Chinese Food and a Movie
by Ltb16
Summary: Based off something Adam Horowitz said in an interview. Hook gets to experience Chinese food and a night in with Emma. *This is developing into a series of one-shots, mostly sequential but not necessarily related. Mostly fluff, some PG-13 smut. I'll update the rating as needed.* Disclaimer: I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1: Chinese Food & a Movie

**I read an interview where Adam Horowitz said "They had a nice moment, but we're not fast forwarding to ordering in Chinese and watching movies." and decided to run with it. Set Post 3x22. **

**Rated T: for slight language and mild adult content. ****Mainly just CS fluff.**

* I thought of more stuff to write, so there will be additional chapters after this. I haven't decided yet if it's going to be chronological or not. I'm having fun with this Villain-free Hook and Emma time, so if you want to see something, I wouldn't mind prompts. And hey, reviews please? They make me happy.:) *

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_(after the coronation party at Granny's)_

"So..." Emma said, standing in front of Hook's room at Granny's.

"So..." he mimicked, looking back and forth between Emma and the closed door before that signature, sexy smirk appeared on his face.

Emma grinned. "Not gonna happen, buddy. Just because I kissed you a bit doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with you."

He snorted and his eyebrows shot sky high. "Emma, love" he chastised "You did not just _kiss me a bit. _I'm fairly certain you were quite attached to my mouth for the better part of thirty minutes-"

"And I'm fairly certain you were enjoying it!" Emma huffed, but she couldn't hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. Had it really been half an hour that they sat outside of Granny's making out? And wasn't it cold outside? How were they not both completely frozen?

She was treated to a deadpan expression not usually reserved for her. "Obviously, love. I'm just saying it was more than kissing for _a bit." _He leaned in close to her ear and whispered "You can attach yourself to any part of me for as long as you like."

Emma was not inexperienced but this damn pirate had a way of making her feel like a naive schoolgirl, blushing at the slightest sexual remark. Clearing her throat she said "Always with the lines. I need something low-key after all of this adventure. Think you could handle just watching a movie tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Well, then I'll see you tomorrow. Six o'clock." she said, turning away from him.

"Emma" he said, waiting for her eyes to meet his. When they did he tapped his bottom lip twice and grinned at her.

"You're too much. Really." Emma said rolling her eyes, but leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before putting space between them again.

"You love it" he growled, winking at her and slipping inside the door.

* * *

Killian arrived exactly ten minutes before Emma asked him to. He knocked on the door which was thrown open by Henry.

"Prince Charles, so glad you could join us." Henry bowed, trying to keep a serious expression on his face.

"Ah, quite the comedian, aren't we?" he asked.

"It's just Prince Charles and Princess Leia…" Henry doubled over in laughter. After a few seconds, he straightened and said "Sorry, it's just such a silly combination. But come in, the Chinese food is already here."

"Chinese?" Killian asked confused.

Henry led him over to the small table, completely full of this "Chinese food". Most of it looked completely foreign to him. He recognized meat on a stick and a dish consisting of white rice, broccoli and beef, although the beef had some type of sauce on it. He stared hesitantly at the two fried-looking items, one rolled and one triangle in shape. Next to that was something battered in lumps with a red sauce and the last, a pile of dark noodles with various things he assumed were vegetables not from this land.

Emma came over to him. "Is the pirate afraid of Chinese food?" she teased him.

"I'm not afraid of anything. I'm merely assessing what you call "Chinese food". This isn't anything like that wobbly stuff from the hospital is it? Because that, love, is not normal." He said.

She laughed. "No, it is nothing like jell-o." She pointed at the rolled items, "these are egg rolls. They're stuffed with vegetables and pork and fried in a wrapper. Then these are crab rangoons. Its crab meat and cheese, I think, fried in a wrapper." Pointing to the next item, she continued "General Tso's chicken, just chicken in a batter and the noodles are lo mein. It's noodles and vegetables. And that is beef and broccoli with rice."

"General who?" he asked perplexed.

"Tso…I don't know why it's named that, just try it!" Emma replied handing him a plate.

Tentatively he began adding things to his plate.

"Mom, Regina just texted me. She's downstairs. I'm gonna have a burger with her instead. And can I stay there tonight?" Henry asked.

Emma nodded. "Sure kid, if you want to. It just means more leftovers for me!" Henry hugged her and ran out the door.

"Come on" Emma gestured toward the loveseat. "There's no room to eat at the table."

Emma began eating right away. He figured it couldn't be that terrible since she seemed to enjoy it. He tried the chicken first and was pleasantly surprised at the taste. He immediately followed it up with the noodles and vegetables then one of those crab things. It didn't taste a damn thing like crab, he thought, but it wasn't bad either.

"Like it?" Emma asked.

"It's very interesting. Not what I expected at all." He replied.

They finished their meal in silence. Emma threw the plates away and put a movie into the DVD player. She turned, assessing him. "Why do you still have your coat and boots on? Get comfortable." She pulled him up and shoved the jacket off his shoulders.

His good arm shot out around her and pulled her flush against him. "Ooo feisty." He growled.

She rolled her eyes and pulled back slightly. "It's a 2 hour movie. There's no need for you to sit here like you're going to bolt at any second."

He removed his boots and sat back down on the loveseat. "Whatever excuses you wish to believe, love."

Ignoring him, Emma scooted closer and put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer.

… 2 hours later …

"So this is a common form of courtship in your world?" he asked.

"Yeah. Going to a restaurant for dinner and seeing a movie at the theater are pretty common too." She responded.

"And kissing for extended periods of time is also common?" he asked, bringing his lips to hers.

Quite some time later, Emma pulled back from him and nodded. "That would be called making out."

"I like this 'making out'" he said, using finger quotes. "And since it's no longer…bad form to indulge in…adult relations before marriage, when does that typically happen in the courtship?"

The grin was back, his eyes were dark and he was every inch of the incredibly attractive pirate she knew him to be. It would be an opportune time to give in, seeing as how Henry voluntarily left them alone, but Emma didn't want to rush anything. With no wicked witches or curses about she planned on taking this as slow as she could stand.

"That's not always true. Some women still wait until marriage. Seeing my track record, it wouldn't be the worst idea." She said forcing sincerity into her voice.

He tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. There was a fierce determination in them. "Then, Emma Swan will you marry me?"

Her eyes widen and she couldn't help but gulp. He was serious. Not just because he thought it would be the only way to bed her, but she could see from the look in his eyes that he would do absolutely anything for her; including taking this at her pace.

"I…I was joking. People…People have sex whenever. I just don't want to rush this. It's just too soon" she rambled.

He pressed his lips gently to hers again, just long enough to shut her up. "Emma. We don't have to rush anything. But you know I wasn't joking."

She nodded. "I know."

He stood, pulling her up with him and walked to the door. "I won't leave if this admission is going to make you run, but I don't wish to pressure you either."

"I'm not going to run" she replied, leaning in to kiss him.

"Sweet dreams, Emma. I'll see you in the morning." He winked and slipped out her door.

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**Psst. I see you reading this. (Yes, I stalk my page views, follows and favorites because it makes me giddy) But you gotta leave me reviews to let me know if you want me to continue! Pleeeeease? ;) **


	2. Chapter 2: House Hunting

**A/N: I have a few more ideas of Emma and Hook trying to settle into a normal life, so here is another one. **

**Rating: T - mild language. There's also some fluff and PG-13 smut. **

**Disclaimer: I own nada. **

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Sliding into the booth across from him she asks "Hey Kid, whatcha looking at?"

"Houses." Henry replies. "Look at this one" he turns the paper so she can see. "It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a yard and its by the water. I think its right on the beach." Or this one, he points "four bedrooms, three bathrooms and it has a loft!"

"They both look nice, but why so many bedrooms?" Emma asks as Ruby swoops down and drops off a cup of coffee to her. _You really gotta love the service here _Emma thought.

"Well, one for me. One for Prince Neal when he's old enough to spend the night. A guest room if you like the four bedroom one. And then the master bedroom for you...and Killian" Henry says slyly.

Emma chokes, spluttering her coffee all over the table. 'Me and...why would you...Killian, why?'

Henry levels her with a look she's received more than once from David. "Mom. He came to New York to find us. He convinced you to come back here. You trusted him to watch me when you were trying to defeat Zelena. He went after you through a time portal. He looks at you all mushy-eyed. And you did spend like an hour making out with him the other night." He smirks.

"You- you saw that?" Emma cringes.

"I'm pretty sure the whole diner saw that, Mom. He really likes you. And you obviously like him. It's not going to do you any good to deny it now." The kid is too smart and perceptive for his years.

Emma lets out a loud sigh. "Okay, well living together is a big step. I'm not rushing into anything."

"With the ways things happen around here, I wouldn't take too much time. You don't want to miss out on anything do you? So can we go look at these today?" he asks, changing subjects like they weren't just having a serious conversation about her love life. Which is a really awkward topic to discuss with your child, Emma thinks.

"Yeah we'll go look at them after breakfast, okay?" she responds.

Emma senses his presence before she can even see him or hear his footsteps coming closer to their booth. She's been able to do this since they kissed in Neverland, just knowing when he is close to her. Even while in New York, without her memories, she still felt a certain pull toward him when he showed up at her apartment that day. Emma wanted to ask her mother about this but was worried about what Snow's response would be. She had a good feeling Snow would tell her that she and David had the same connection and it was related to True Love.

Emma knows she loves Killian. She's loved him since he said he would think of her every day but she's not willing to go any further than just to accept the feelings and trying to pretend they don't exist when in the company of him and well, basically everyone else. It's only when she's alone does she allow herself to indulge in what she feels. She thinks of him constantly. They way he looks at her. How ever since that day on the beanstalk he's been able to read her like an open book. How he would do anything to protect her and her family, something she is now completely sure of. The crazy man gave up the only home he had for over three hundred years for her! If that wasn't the largest declaration of love and trust and protection, Emma didn't know what was.

"Morning, love" he says, kissing the top of her head and sliding into the booth next to her.

"Still on your quest to find a place to live lad?" He asks Henry.

"Yeah, I found two places this morning. They're both by the water." Henry hints.

"I quite approve." Killian smiles at the boy and reaches for Emma's hand under the table.

"I figured you would. Both places have at least two big bedrooms. One for me and the other for mom and-"

Emma is glaring at him from across the table.

"-and moms stuff." He finished lamely.

Killian knows that is not what the boy intended to say but looking back and forth between Henry and Emma, who are in a wordless unpleasant conversation, he decides it's better off not asking. Then a though dawns on him, Henry wasn't going to say 'mom and you' was he? The boy was extremely perceptive and much more outspoken then his mother but surely he did the want him to live with them, did he? Killian couldn't even begin to think that far in the future, about what life would be like if he and Emma could have a real relationship.

Henry pushed the paper in front of him and pointed to a small listing. "What's a threeburr twoba? It sounds like a dreadful disease or terrible musical of sorts." he asked, furrowing his brow.

Emma and Henry both burst out laughing. Not amused with being laughed at, he cocked any eyebrow and simply stared at them both, which only caused them to laugh harder. Finally Emma composed herself long enough to explain the abbreviation '3br' meant three bedrooms and '2ba' meant two bathrooms.

Right, because along with portable communication devices that also take photographs, magic boxes that play 'movies' and motorized metal carriages, he was supposed to understand the abbreviations of this world? He sighed deeply at just how unfamiliar he was with everything in this realm. It was only three hundred years in Neverland, things shouldn't change that much!

Ruby broke into this thoughts. "What'cha having for breakfast, Captain?"

"The same as me, pancakes with blueberry syrup and bacon," Henry answered for him.

"Just toast and fruit, please" Emma said. "I'm not very hungry."

"Have you had pancakes yet?" Henry asked, not waiting for his response. "They're one of my favorite breakfasts ever. They're like little soft pillows of dough and then there are fresh blueberries on top and the syrup is sweet."

Killian nodded (at least that made sense!) and allowed Henry and Emma to keep the conversation going. When the food arrived, they were just talking about getting Henry enrolled again in school here and taking a trio back to New York to get the rest of their belongings. Killian allowed his thoughts to return to the possibility of a real relationship with Emma, not as though he had any idea of how one of those worked in this world.

It was called 'dating' instead of 'courting', that much he knew. They would be allowed to go on these dates alone with no chaperone, which was much appreciated. But where they were supposed to go, other than dinner and the movies that Emma told him about last last, he didn't know.

"You're awfully quiet" Emma nudged him.

"Sorry love just thinking." He smiled warmly at her.

"We're going to look at these houses Henry found. Care to join us?" She asked.

"I would love to." He responded. Henry gave Emma another knowing look. What was going on between those two, he wondered.

The first house was much older than any of them expected. A Cape Cod style, but with a large front porch. Large windows with rotting wood shutters looked out to the ocean. The steps creaked ominously as they made their way onto the porch. Inside, the house held a bit more charm, a wide grand staircase not fitting the theme of the house was centered slightly to the right of the front door. There was a formal sitting room, a smaller living room and large dining room sigh a table and chairs big enough to seat at least ten people. The dining room opened up to the kitchen, which lacked all modern amenities, and boasted a lime green tile counter. So much for the charm.

Upstairs was not much better. The rooms were all very small and the bathroom was built on the slope of the house, not allowing anyone over 5 foot tall to fit in the shower. The yard and the view were gorgeous, however. The front porch overlooked the ocean with only a few sandy dunes and brush blocking the view. From the front bedrooms upstairs you it appeared you could see for miles out into the ocean. The backyard had a small patio area with a built-in fire pit and the whole yard was fenced in.

"I think this is a bit more work than I'd like to do to a house." Emma told Henry. He nodded in agreement.

The next house was only a few blocks away. They could have easily walked along the beach from the first house to get it to. It was a Victorian style, which Emma found odd to be directly on the beach, but it appeared to be much more updated. While in need of a new coat of paint, the house was painted a brilliant medium shade of blue, trimmed in a light sea green. The front door was navy blue with a new brass doorknob and knocker. The second Emma walked inside she knew she wanted to live here. The living room had built in bookshelves and large bay windows drawing in all of the natural light. Beadboard was on the bottom half of the walls, crown moulding around the ceiling. The remainder of the walls were painted a blue similar to the front of the house. The dining room had a built-in curio cabinet which Emma was oddly drawn to. Not one to collect china or knick knacks she had no idea what she would put in there.

The kitchen was large and recently updated. It played off the rest of the beachy theme in the house, sand-colored walls and counters with a darker brown cabinet. The tile floor was gray with flecks of teal and green. Looking closer, Emma realized some tiles had broken seashells in them.

The bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs were all also fairly updated and painted in beachy tones. While Emma was appraising the curio cabinet, Killian and Henry had slipped upstairs. The master bedroom was the same shade of blue as the living room and offered a slightly elevated sitting area with huge windows opening out to the ocean. It was incredibly gorgeous. Much more than Emma and Henry would ever need living alone, but this house was calling to her. Emma found Killian standing in the master bedroom staring out the windows at the ocean.

She quietly came up behind him. "Do you miss it?"she asked.

"Aye lass, I always missing being on the water whenever I am not there. Although you have quite the views from this room. You can see straight out to the ocean but also the cannery and the docks." He said wistfully.

Emma needed this house, not only for her, but for him as well. If she dared to think too far into the future and assumed they would be curse and villain free for some time, this was the perfect place for the both of them. Killian could get a job at the cannery or on the docks, keeping him near the water, and this house was walking distance away. The house even had its own small pier so if he were ever to want another boat, they could keep it right at home.

_Home. I'm thinking home and Hook in the same sentence. When did THAT happen? _

"Henry!" Emma called. He came running into the room and joined them at the window. "This is the perfect house for our family. We're taking it." She grinned, meeting Killian's eye on the words 'our family'.

"Awesome!" Henry yelled. "I call the navy blue bedroom!"

Killian just started at Emma confused, not sure if he had just imagined her emphasis on those words or if meeting his eyes then was just a coincidence.

"The house has four bedrooms. I'm not rushing anything but if you didn't want to stay at Granny's all of the time…" she trailed off.

Blazes! The bloody woman just told him he could stay with her and the lad! It was too much to process. Hook reverted back to his old ways.

Stepping forward, placing himself inches from her face (which didn't have the same challenging effect it used to, he realized) and adopting a lewd grin, he ran his finger down her jawline, causing her to shudder slightly. "You're lying, Emma. I'll be staying right here with you, in your bed."

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to respond but before she could utter a sound, his lips were on hers. Claiming her mouth, proving her to challenge what he said. She pulled back slightly "Do you need to have the last word or something?"

"Aye. And kiss." he responded, returning his lips to hers again.

_Damn pirate. _

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I'm not 100% impressed with this, but I figured I'd share anyway. Reviews? Any suggestions on what else life for Emma and Hook will be like? I'll take prompts too.


	3. Chapter 3: Bring it, Pirate

**A/N: I wrote most of this before the finale, but didn't share here so I decided to change it up a bit to fit with the ending. **

**Still rated T, there's a lot of flirting, PG-13 type stuff and some mild language. **

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Emma was in an unusually flirty mood. Killian had been chipping away at her walls for weeks and given the recent turn of events, not much more than heaps of rubble remained. They still hadn't defined anything in their relationship. If you could call it a relationship. A friendship with lots of flirting and kissing? _I'm not ready to DTR_, she thought to herself, picking up on a phrase she heard on some tv show Henry was watching the other day.

And while nothing was being defined, they sure were spending a lot of time together. The majority of her day consisted of Killian Jones being in her presence. If he wasn't joining her at Granny's in the morning for her usual hot chocolate, he was finding some excuse to bump into her around lunchtime. Was she hungry? He just happened to be passing by the sheriff's station (where she resumed her previous role) and thought he'd pop in and say hello or he wanted to know how a certain case was coming along. He had an unlimited amount of 'excuses' to stop by.

Inevitably this lead to him staying for hours, which then resulted in him needing to be a gentleman and walk her home, regardless of the fact that she was still staying at Granny's across the hall from him. They never discussed why he came in or why he stayed as late as possible every night. They just existed in this world of not speaking of whatever they wished to call this routine.

"So, you really thought of me _every day, _huh_?"_ Emma grins at the leather clad pirate (ex-pirate?) who is relaxing on the loveseat as if he owns the place. It's the third time he's been here in as many days.

"Didn't I say that I would?" he counters, not directly answering the question.

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything…" she responds.

"Have I not proven myself to be a man of my word?" he questions, irritation creeping into his voice.

Emma sticks out her lower lip a bit. "You have, but _every day? _Three hundred and sixty five days is a _long _time."

"Emma Swan pouting? Why I never thought I'd see the day the great Swan resorts to my own methods of acquiring information. I must be rubbing off on you." A cocky grin appears before he continues, "Let me really show you how it is done, love. One must know how to properly pout."

And with that he lowers his eyelids and sticks out his bottom lip and blinks pitifully at her.

She unintentionally holds her breath. My god, that man's facial expressions should be illegal. No one in the world should be able to pout that perfectly. Exactly how many women has he used this face on and got exactly what he wanted? Emma thinks she would rather not know.

His tongue traces his bottom lip and her eyes can't help but follow the movement. The pout is replaced by a smirk. "See love, you'd have given me anything I wanted just then."

"That's not true!" Emma retorts. _I'd maybe just seriously consider it if you continued with that face or licking your lips_. This is hopeless she realizes.

"Ah, maybe you just weren't close enough. I hear my charming ways and devilishly good looks are 100% irresistible when up close." He reaches out to grab her arm and pulls her onto his lap. He's treated with a mock frown.

_Such progress I have made with thisone,_ he thinks. Never in a million years did Killian Jones expect to be head over heels in love with the Savior. Not like he'd ever call her that to her face, but the probability of a savior and a pirate being anything more than enemies is so rare he has taken to pinching himself every time she welcomes his presence to confirm it's really happening.

"Now love let's teach you how to properly pout. Bottom lip out. A bit further. There, that's nice. Now I need you to show me with your eyes just how much you want this bit of information you are attempting to acquire."

Emma lowers her eyes and focuses all of her thoughts on what she wants to know. _Did Killian really think of me every day_ she repeats like a mantra then slowly raises her eyes to his.

"Every waking and sleeping sec"..._SHIT!_ He trails off. He wasn't actually trying to teach Emma how to get him to reveal everything to her, he was just trying to affect her with his charmingly good looks. _Bit of a backfire. This lass is really too much for her own good_ he thinks, but figures while she is currently on his lap with no plans to move he might as well she how far he can go with this.

In a gentlemanly way of course! Killian would never force her to do anything, but if she wanted to continue to pretend she was impervious to his charms when she wanted to be, he was going ramp up his efforts. He saw the crack in her emotional armor when he pouted at her.

"Too good of a student, am I Jones?" Emma asks smirking.

He rolled his eyes. "No, love. Let's not forget I am the _master_ in this lesson and one merely good pout does not mean you have bested me."

He really should not have the ability to make such mundane everyday words pack such innuendos. _I've never even liked overly flirty men_ Emma thinks. And definitely never ones who wear leather or eyeliner. Hell, she specifically remembered saying 'men in eyeliner are just plain creepy' when the rest of the world was falling all over Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. _This is crazy _she thinks and sighs, not realizing she had done it aloud until he asks what is wrong.

"Nothing I'm just a bit tired." Which is usually his key to dole out the innuendos about finally sharing her bed before she shoves him to the door, but tonight he just pulls her closer so she is nestled firmly against his chest and begins to draw lazy circles on her back with his good hand.

"Something or shall I say someone, maybe a terribly good looking pirate, keeping you awake at night?" He asks cheekily. His lips are so close to her ear, his breath so warm that she tries not to shudder but he's given her goosebumps. "Perhaps a pirate with beautiful blue eyes and the perfect amount of facial scruff that's currently sitting on your love seat?" he continues, his lips moving even closer to her ear.

Against all of Emma's better judgement the damn cheeky pirate is turning her on. "Sorry to bruise your ego, but there have been no pirates keeping me awake at night." She lies. "Just a long day." Along with everything else, of course he has been on her mind. What were they doing? Where was this going? Emma knew logically she just needed to take it one day at a time, but that really wasn't in her nature.

"Tell me about this long day", he says dragging out the word as he slips his hand under her shirt to continue making circles on her back. Her spine immediately stiffens from such direct contact and for a moment Killian briefly thinks he's blown it for the evening.

He's equally managed to turn her on and lull her into a slumber-like state with the rythmic circles on her back. "Nothing specifically, I just have a lot on my mind with knowing that we're staying here. That house, Henry and school, my parents" she shrugs, causing his lips to touch her ear and she can't help but jump at the contact.

"Hmmm. Shall I tell you a swashbuckling tale of life and adventure on the seas to rid your mind of these worries?" He asks. The idea is absurd really, it's almost as if he is telling her a bedtime story which is not something Captain Hook or Killian Jones ever expected to do in his lifetime.

Emma can only nod and he begins a story of arriving to port in some town they had not visited before. His crew sat on deck discussing how they should go about finding the best taverns for female company while he decided to plot out what goods they needed to steal. After a few minutes Emma has no idea what he is even saying because all she can focus on is his warm breath on her ear. A few centimeters closer and he would be sucking on her earlobe.

_No, don't think that!_ She tries to tell her traitorous body but it is too late. She is completely turned on and practically humming with desire at the proximity to the, what did he call himself, devilishly handsome? pirate. A few moments pass as Emma struggles to regain control over her feelings before just giving in.

She interrupts him in the middle of a sentence "-shut up and kiss me" she says, harsher than intended.

He freezes for only a second, as though he wasn't sure he heard her correctly, before responding "if the lady insists."

The kiss is similar to the one in Neverland, hot and fueled with a passion Emma didn't know she possessed. The kisses are hard and quick and she can't stop herself from nipping at his bottom lip with her teeth. Her hands are tugging on his hair, tilting his head to give her better access. His mouth opens slightly and she jumps on the invitation, deepening the kiss.

Emma has no problems being the one in control, but what she wants, _what she needs_ is not to be gently kissed. She knowers he's holding back. Panting, she pulls back to look into his eyes which have darkened to a navy blue. "Is this really how the great captain got all of his women? I can't say I'm impressed." She challenges.

He falters for a few seconds before she watches the transformation before her eyes. He squares his shoulders, the eyebrow goes up, the grin returns and he's running his tongue over his bottom lip while staring at her like a starving dog stares at a juicy steak. "Love, I am confident to say that you won't be able to handle it, but I wouldn't be the pirate I am if I denied you the chance to find out." He's practically growling at her.

To Emma's chagrin, she has butterflies in her stomach and if possible, is even more turned on by his words.

She drags her fingernail down his chest. "Bring it, _Pirate." _

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**Seriously, every time I see a new review, follow or favorite, I get all giddy. I can't thank you enough!**


	4. Chapter 4: Road Trip

**Emma is supposed to return to NY with Henry so they can pack up their belongings. Killian ends up coming with her instead. Pure fluff. **

**So I've determined I can't write short stories. This is way longer than I expected. I blame Killian and Emma though. They seem to take on a life of their own as I'm writing. I hope you like it! **

**And seriously, you all are the best. When I saw 70 followers and 40 favorites today, I may have broken out into a huge cheesy grin. Thank you so much! **

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**Road Trip**

Emma signed a two year lease on the house by the beach. There was an option for six months or a year as well, but her hand moved of its own accord, checking off the box for 24 months and signing her name. Subconsciously she knew it was some part of her determined to put down roots. To stay here forever. To be part of a family again. She forced herself not to think about it too much.

"So kid, I was thinking we could drive back to New York tomorrow morning and pack up the rest of our stuff. I figured we'd just get new furniture here instead of paying for a moving truck. Is that okay with you?" Henry was engrossed in some new video game he convinced her to buy the other day.

"Sure mom." he replied. "Is Killian coming with us?"

"I didn't think to ask. Do you want me to?" An extra hand (she snorted to herself at the pun) surely wouldn't hurt.

"Yeah. I doubt he's going to let you out of his sight anyway." Henry grinned at her.

Emma frowned. When did her kid start spouting off lines like this?

Later that evening, while they ate dinner downstairs at Granny's, Emma asked Killian if he wanted to come along. He appeared extremely relieved to be invited, but Emma didn't press the issue.

Henry was spooning the last mouthful of hot fudge sundae into his mouth when Regina entered to diner. It was obvious she was trying to keep up appearances but she looked terrible, which made Emma feel even worse than she did that night. How was she supposed to know that of all people to be in the cell next to her it would be Robin's wife? Henry immediately picked up on the look on Regina's face, dropped his spoon and went to her.

Emma couldn't make out what they were saying but it gave her a small amount of comfort to see that at least while talking to Henry, Regina was smiling and appeared to be back to her old self. Or less old self? Emma wasn't sure how to definite it. Regina certainly hadn't reverted back to the woman she was when Emma first arrived in Storybrooke but she wasn't as friendly as she had previously been either, with obvious good reason.

"Mom," Henry returned to the table. "She's really upset still over Robin. I tried to tell her to just go talk to him but she won't listen and is convinced that he is spending all of his time with Marian again. I really don't want to leave her like this. Can I spend the night with her instead of going to New York tomorrow? I'll come to the new house on Saturday to unpack and everything once you are back."

Emma wasn't fond of leaving Henry here when she would be so far away, but she didn't feel like she really had a choice either. "Of course Henry. Killian and I will pack up your room."

"So love, looks like it's just you and I tomorrow." he grinned at her.

Oh, and there was that issue. Emma figured with Henry coming along that Killian would keep his distance, so to speak, but now she would be alone with him in her former apartment most likely overnight. Emma gulped.

It wasn't that she didn't want to be alone with him, it was just that she didn't want to be alone with him so soon. She was still hanging onto a few shreds of willpower not to shove the gorgeous leather-clad man against the wall somewhere and have her way with him, but there was no guarantees she could keep this up when they would be completely alone, far away from everyone.

The gulp didn't go unnoticed. "I promise to be a perfect gentleman, love. After all, I am a very patient man. I did wait over three hundred years to exact my revenge on the crocodile, and look how that turned out." he said.

… _the next morning…_

Killian leaned up against her bug the next morning, holding two cups of coffee with his good hand.

"Well, you at least get brownie points for providing me with nectar of the gods for this trip." she leaned over to open his door.

"Nectar of the gods is rum lass, not coffee. However, since you are driving and I am here to keep you company, I opted not to spike either." he said smiling.

The drive was relatively uneventful. Killian was still not a fan of these metal carriage contraptions nor all of the traffic they had to encounter getting back to her apartment. Miles of these contraptions all squished together on a long narrow road, it practically gave him hives if he thought about it too long. _There should be space, room to breath, somewhere to let the sails out,_ he thought.

Sometimes he was able to forget how much he missed her, _The Jolly_. Other times he felt nearly as bad as he did watching Swan drive away with her boy a year ago. Maybe if they could just get through a small period of time without villains and curses, he could begin to look for his ship again. Well, once he found a way, not of the time portal variety, to travel between realms.

Hours later Emma pulled up in front of her old building. "We're here." She hopped out of the car immediately and stretched her legs. Killian just watched.

"We'll go to the grocery store around the corner first and see if they'll give us any boxes. I didn't even think to bring any from Storybrooke." She said, grabbing his hand and tugging him down the sidewalk.

Armfuls of boxes procured, plus packing tape and a huge wad of newspapers, they entered her apartment. "Just drop them here." Emma indicated to the foyer.

"Did you really not remember me at all when I first came here for you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I didn't recognize your face, but your voice sounded familiar and I knew there had been something between us when you kissed me, but I didn't really remember you." she said honestly.

"I thought I saw a flicker of something before you so graciously kneed me." he responded.

"Hey! It's not every day a guy dressed as a pirate shows up at your door and kisses you!" Emma exclaims.

He puts his hook on his hip and raises his eyebrows at her. Unless she had suddenly developed a case of amnesia, Hook was fairly certain that is exactly how he had greeted her every morning since getting back from that blasted time portal.

"Well, then it wasn't!" she spluttered. "Come on, we need to get started packing. There's a lot more stuff here than I remember."

They started in the kitchen first, packing up dishes, pots and pans, and utensils. They were down to the final draw when he held up the pineapple corer gingerly between his fingers. "Why are you keeping weapons in your kitchen, Swan?" he asked.

Emma started laughing. "It's not a weapon. It cores a pineapple. You cut off the top of the pineapple and the sides, then you press this down the center and it takes out the core. So you can have pineapple rings."

Killian raises an eyebrow, but places the item in a box, still skeptical. It appears to be much more weapon like than a fruit tool.

They split up after the kitchen, Killian agreeing to pack up Henry's room and Emma doing the living room, which boasted quite a large assortment of DVDs. Killian was surprised to find a shelf full of toys amidst the books and other belongings of the boy. Small figurines of men, a few cars and various other objects all got packed into boxes as he quickly worked around the room. Sweeping a stack of books from the shelf into a box, his eye caught on a small piece of paper sticking out of a book. The paper was very old, quite like the paper he had kept on his ship. Carefully he opened the book, unfolded the paper and gasped.

It was a fairly accurate drawing of his ship! The lad must have stolen the paper when they were on the way back from Neverland, but he had no idea when he had the time to actually draw the picture. He tucked the drawing into his coat, reminding himself to ask Henry if he could have it when they returned back to Storybrooke.

"Hey" she said, causing him to jump. She held a small glass of rum out to him. "We've been at this for hours. I'm ready for a break. Want to have a drink and find some food?"

She talked him into getting something called pizza for dinner. He'd heard of this meal before, possibly even had a less pleasant variety in his stay at the hospital all that time ago. Pizza is different in New York, she explained. As long as you like cheese and bread, you'll love it.

The pizza arrived a short time later. Emma placed two slices on each of their plates and flopped down on the couch. She turned on the magic picture box..err, television and actually squealed while she was flipping through.

"I don't like a ton of romantic movies," Emma told him. "But this one, You've Got Mail, is one of my favorites. It's a story about Kathleen Kelly, a woman who owns a children's book store right here in New York and then a guy named Joe Fox comes in with his mega store right around the block from her and puts her out of business. But they still fall in love."

"She falls in love with a man who takes away her trade? It does not sound very smart to me." he says, finally taking a bite of the pizza. Oh, this stuff is wonderful! Soft and chewy, melty and a touch acidic. He does not mean for the moan to escape his lips, but this concoction is heavenly! Maybe there are some things in this realm more worthwhile than others.

He glances at her, finding her staring at him in amusement with a hint of something else...arousal, maybe? Suddenly he feels self conscious, which is preposterous because Captain Hook would never feel self conscious about anything.

"I told you it was good." she says, interrupting his thoughts. He nods and returns to the slice at hand.

When he finished, Emma had placed his dirty plate on the table in front of them and had curled up against him on the couch, engrossed in the movie. He finds himself running his fingers through her hair.

"You're gonna put me to sleep doing that" she says, eyes already half lidded. He positions them so she is lying in front of him on the couch and wraps his arm around her, still fondling her tresses between his fingers.

He actually finds the movie quite interesting and is impressed that despite the man taking away her trade, her livelihood, the woman still has the ability to fall for him and even dare to hope that it was him. It gives him a sense of comfort knowing that even in these movies life isn't always as cut and dry as it seems.

Hook leans forward to kiss Emma's cheek and finds that she has fallen asleep. The couch is comfortable, but not that comfortable and she have a long day of driving ahead of them. By some odds, he manages to untangle himself from her and the couch without waking her. He tiptoes into her room and finds she has left her bed still made. Tossing extra pillows on the floor, he draws back the blankets, shocked at how strongly her scent still remains on them.

Returning to the living room, he carefully lifts her up and carries her to her bed. He starts to pull the blankets around her when her eyes flutter open. "Sleep here with me." She mumbles.

He hesitates. He could just as easily sleep on the couch, but the last time he actually slept in such near proximity to her was in Neverland and while he has no intentions of more than just sleeping next to her, he still feels as though it is wrong some how.

Her eyes flutter open again, appearing more alert this time and she reaches her arms out to him. "I said get in bed with me, pirate." He chuckles at the impatience shining through her sleep-laced voice.

"Top drawer. There's pants that should fit you." Her eyes are fully open now but he can tell she's still fighting sleep.

Killian crosses the room to the dresser and pulls out cotton pants and t-shirt he thinks will fit him, before slipping into her bathroom to change. Removing his hook, he places it on her nightstand and carefully climbs into bed with her.

Of all the thoughts he's had of sleeping with Emma, this was not the one he expected to happen first. Emma raises his right arm and presses herself against him, letting his arm fall against her back. She leans forward, pressing a soft kiss to his jawline and mumbles "night, Killian" before laying her head on his chest, her arm wrapped around his waist.

"Good night, love" he whispers before eventually drifting off himself.

The next morning he wakes as she tries to extricate herself from him. "Oh." she smiles sheepishly as she finds his blue eyes staring back at her. "You umm...make a good pillow. You probably slept terribly with me draped all over you. I'm sorry."

"I'm not." He smiles at her. "I slept perfectly fine love."

She nods and crawls out of bed. "It's just my clothing left to pack. Do you want to start taking the boxes down to my car and I'll get the rest packed away? We can grab some more coffee before we actually leave."

"Of course, love." He pushes back the blankets and finds her staring at him. At first he thinks it's disgust at his lack of a arm, but he realizes she does not look displeased. Feeling more self conscious than ever, he clears his throat.

"Oh, umm regular clothes." she gestures at him. "First time I've seen that."

He gives her a small smile before gathering his usual clothing and heading to the other bathroom to change, allowing her to get ready at her own pace.

An hour later the boxes are loaded into her bug and they each have a cup of coffee. Emma pauses, looking up at the building one more time. It feels like a lifetime ago that she was here, living what she thought was a normal life with Henry. Shaking her head, she gets in the car and pushes open the door for him.

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**What did you think? I tried going against my usual dialogue-heavy writing and tried to channel what must be going on in Killian's head. I referred to him as Hook in this chapter, only because I still see him as both and probably always will. **


	5. Chapter 5: iendslove

**A/N: Sorry, I wanted to get this shared yesterday but I had some writer's block with this chapter. I didn't want to leave it out though. After over-fluffing it a bit last chapter I scaled this one back a little. I'm pretty sure I can bring it back for the next chapter though. **

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The trip back to Storybrook was less pleasant than the journey to New York. Despite leaving relatively early in the morning, everyone appeared to be on the roads causing massive traffic jams. Emma found herself pulling over at rest stops more frequently than necessary just so she didn't manage to lose her temper on the road. She also noticed any length of time they spent not moving on the roads caused Killian to look a bit green so she figured the stops were not unwelcome, considering he practically leapt from the car the second she put it into park.

The sun was just beginning to set when they crossed over the town line. Emma couldn't help but wonder what a sunset would look like from her new bedroom. The view had to be amazing. She handed him her phone. "Can you text Henry and tell him we'll be at the new house in 10 minutes?"

Hook took the phone from her and looked at it suspiciously. He still was not a fan of this communication devices but it appeared he would need to learn quite quickly. "Care to explain how to text, love?" he asked embarrassed.

'Oh, I'm sorry. Press the green bubble that says messages then click on the one that says Henry's name. Press where it says text message and the letters will appear. Just type the words and press send."

"Who can press these tiny little letters? I keep spelling words wrong!" he said flustered.

"You'll get used to it sooner or later, I promise. We'll get you a phone soon too. It's really not that hard. I swear. Cell phones are actually easier to use than they used to be." she replied.

"Don't believe you." he muttered. "Finally!" Killian jumped a bit when the phone made a noise.

"It's just a notification that the text sent-" the phone made another noise. 'and that's probably Henry's reply."

"Blazes that was quick! Does he keep it attached to his person? It says he is on his way. David is dropping him off." He quickly handed the phone back to Emma. Any more time with the blasted contraption and he'd need to purchase a spectacle to see the tiny letters.

Emma pulled up in front of the house the same time David did. Henry hopped out of the truck and ran to the front door.

"What, no hug kid?" Emma asked as she and Killian started up the steps.

"Sorry. I'm glad you're home." Henry replied throwing an arm around each of them. Killian froze. He liked the lad quite a bit and felt as though Henry was beginning to like him, but this sudden display of affection was quite unexpected. Emma met his eye with a smile and tugged him in closer. He gingerly placed his hook on the boy's back. A second later Henry had pulled away and was bouncing from foot to foot in front of the door.

"What is it kid?" Emma asked warily.

"I just need to tell you something about the house before we go in. So Belle and Ruby and Mary-Margaret were here all day yesterday while you and Killian were packing. Mary-Margaret said she didn't think you'd want to wait for a bunch of furniture so Belle talked to Mr. Gold and found he had a lot of stuff just sitting around in a rental house he has, and they kind of brought it all here. It's not fully furnished but it's a start." Henry stopped bouncing long enough to speak.

Emma wasn't thrilled at the idea of having anything that came from Gold, but her mother was right. She dreaded furniture shopping and given her current state of employment without a paycheck yet, it was nice to know she wouldn't need to part with as much money for furniture. Henry flung open the front door and Emma gasped. They had decorated beautifully.

Playing up the beachy tones of the house, the living room had tan furniture and throw pillows that matched the paint color. The blue was very very close in color to Killian's eyes Emma couldn't help but think. The furniture was white and they had tied the whole room together with accents in that blue, coral and navy. The dining room had an almost black table and matching chairs. The coral accents continued. In the curio cabinet, Emma found they had placed pictures. One of her and Henry after they came back from Neverland, one of David and Mary-Margaret not long after their memories were returned. A newborn picture of Prince Neal. A candid shot of Emma, Belle and Ruby laughing in Granny's diner. Another candid shot, from the coronation party captured almost everyone. David and Mary-Margaret looking down at Neal. Rumple and Belle holding hands and in the corner, Hook gazing at her adoringly. _Family. Friends. Love. _Read a small wooden plate at the top of the cabinet.

Not one to be overly sentimental, especially with something as simple as pictures, Emma couldn't stop herself from tearing up a bit. The words hit her hard. She instantly knew she wanted to fill every square inch of the curio cabinet with pictures of her life here.

"I do appreciate the modern amenities of quick photography" Hook whispered in her ear. He was staring at the picture of them.

Emma took his hand in hers. "Me too. I want to fill the rest of the shelves with pictures. The whole house really."

He could only grin before she started tugging him toward the stairs. "Come on pirate, I want to see what they did to the bedrooms."

Emma gasped again when she entered the master bedroom. The furniture was white with sleek silver lamps and sea green accents. Two white chairs sat on the raised area, one with a blue throw over the arm, the other with a sea green pillow. A few books sat on the windowsill. The bedding was a mixture of that brilliant blue, sea green and white and look so positively comfy that Emma couldn't stop herself from rushing over and flopping down on the bed. "Ohhhh" she sighed. "It's so nice."

Hook couldn't stop the inappropriate thoughts from crossing through his mind. She was lying on the bed, moaning with the most content and blissful look on her face. He couldn't wait to elicit the same reaction with other activities that included him. Remembering the boy was with them, he stopped himself from going to her immediately. Instead he slowly strolled up to where her legs dangled off the bed and nudged them apart with his knee. Leaning over her slightly he said "Yes, Swan your bedding looks quite enticing. Now stop being a bloody minx and get off the bed since your lad is in the other room."

She had the decency to flush slightly before winking at him. She used his arm to pull herself up then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. His hook pressed to the small of her back, the other tilting her head to access her mouth better.

"Mom, Killian, come see my ro-ewwwwwwwwww." Henry stood in the doorway. They both jumped apart. "Come on, I gotta see enough of this when I'm around Gramps. At least shut the door."

Killian couldn't help the smirk creeping across his face at the idea of being behind closed doors with Emma, especially after the approval from her boy. Emma wore a full-on blush. "Sorry kid, let's go see your room."

The bed and dresser in Henry's room were a light wood color. The bedding was navy that matched the walls with accents of red and white. Henry had already placed his books on the dresser and lined up a few toys on a shelf. He looked absolutely at home in the room.

"Do you like it kid? I think it's great." Emma asked.

Henry nodded. "I love it. And I can see the beach from that window and the yard from the other. It's perfect. Did you see the other two rooms? I think you'll like the one Killian."

Hook was confused. He was sure Emma hadn't said anything to her mother about him possibly staying in one of the rooms. What could possibly be in there that he would like?

"Ohhh" he whispered, taking in the room. The walls were light gray. There was a small dresser with an old globe and small replica of a ship on top. Across the room was a cherry wood desk with an ornate chair. Framed above the desk was an old map, old enough to be from his time. A clock on the wall appeared to be framed in a porthole. The bed was smaller than Emma's, but still large enough for two people. The bedding was a dark gray, almost black with white and red pillows. Killian loved the room. Had he ever expected to live on land, this is very much how he would choose to decorate. Simple nautical touches, enough to remind him of the sea, even while still on land.

Emma's arms went around him from behind. She leaned her head against her shoulder and said softly in his ear "I think my mother is onto us. This room is perfect for you. It would go to such waste if you stayed at Granny's all the time."

"I know you and my mom are taking it slow so you're not going to share her room right away," Henry broke into his thoughts. 'But this room has a much better view of the sea than you'd ever get at Granny's. Although the food is better there."

Emma pushed her son's shoulder playfully. 'Hey, I was getting to be quite the cook in New York!"

Killian couldn't speak. Emma and her boy had both told him he was more than welcome in their home. It was more than he could have ever imagine when he realized she was right and turned around his ship to "be part of something."

"You're decent enough. Speaking of food, can we order something? I didn't have dinner yet and I'm starving. Pizza?" Henry asked.

"Yes pizza!" Killian finally spoke, causing Emma to laugh and tell Henry she had finally gotten him to try some in New York last night.

Emma handed over her bank card to Henry and told him to order pizza and soda, making sure they also provided paper plates and napkins since she was in no mood to wash dishes their first night there.

They ate the pizza on the couch while Henry told Killian about all the movies he wanted to show him and how they would really need to plan on a movie watching marathon soon so he could get all caught up.

Henry fell asleep on the couch and Killian offered to carry him to his room. Placing the boy gently on the bed he whispered "thank you lad, for everything." Turning out the light, he quietly shut the door and found Emma standing in the hallway.

"Sleep with me again?" she asked. "I haven't slept that good in a long time."

He was in no position to tell her no and followed her into the bedroom.

Emma looked him up and down and right as he began to wonder where she was going to go with it she smiled and said "we're going clothes shopping tomorrow, pirate."

"As you wish, my love." He held her the same as he did the night before.

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**Oh and seriously? 90 followers!? I absolutely can NOT thank you enough. I kinda want to hug you all, but I'm not a hugger. So just believe me when I tell you I'm so, so, so happy you like where I'm going with this. **

**Also, I'm still taking prompts if you have anything for me. Moving in, lazy Sunday's and Hook's adapting to this world were all suggested. I'm definitely going to incorporate them all but they won't be separate chapters. Well, maybe lazy Sunday will be. **


	6. Chapter 6: Shopping Day

**Have I mentioned recently how awesome you all are? I'm totally in awe of the reviews, follows and favorites. Keep it up? :)**

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**Shopping Day**

"Emma can we stop there first?" he gestured to a pawn shop just outside of town.

"Yeah why?" Emma asked pulling over her bug.

"I need to obtain some of your currency to go shopping, do I not? I'll only be a moment love, your father showed me what I need to do last time. Apparently old gold coin is quite desired in your realm." He strode into the shop and was back seated next to her before Emma fully had a second to process what happened.

At her perplexed look he chuckled. "Even pirates have money love."

She pulled into a parking space in front of the department store and got out of the car. He immediately grabbed her hand, linking his fingers through hers. The perplexed expression returned. "Is this not okay love? It seems quite common in your world. Your parents do it all of the time."

"No, I...this is all just kind of weird still." Emma admitted.

His lips formed a thin line. "Weird that you should be seen about with a pirate?"

Emma squeezed his hand and sighed. "Nothing like that. Relationships just don't come easy to me okay? With Neal it was just about the next adrenaline rush of what to steal, how not to get caught. Walsh was just fancy dinners and loads of fake memories.. I'm just a bit out of my element."

The pirate snorted. If anyone was out of their element it was most definitely him.

"I... yeah, sorry. Look, the men's department" she gestures to the racks and racks of clothing in front of them. "Just walk around and see if there is anything you like."

Killian hesitated. There was quite literally a sea of clothing in front of him to choose from. How was he to make the right choice? Tops and bottoms in every length, style and color imaginable are before him. Finally he walked over to a rack of t-shirts, flipped through them quickly and selected a navy blue one with a white design at the top and the words "The Doctor" underneath. He held it out to Emma for approval.

Emma couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. "From pirate leathers to tv-show graphic t-shirts. Opposite ends of the spectrum, much?" She points to the white design above the wording. "That is a Tardis. It's used for time travel. The shirt is from a show called Doctor Who."

He nods "I like it." He picks out another shirt, this one in green with a Captain Morgan logo.

Emma could only laugh. "Let's look at other shirts." she said, pulling over to a table with shirts in a rainbow of colors and holds up a blue one to his chest. "This matches your eyes."

"I want to match my eyes?" he says confused.

"No you can wear any color but some colors are going to make them stand out more." She explained.

"And you like this?"

There is a bit of color in her cheeks as she responds, "Well you do have really pretty eyes."

Which is more than enough satisfaction for the pirate. "Which colors?"

"Well any of them really. Black and white would be a nice contrast."

Hook adds them to the already growing pile in his arm then points to the red and the gray shirts. Emma nods at both. Closing the space between them in the typical way that he does, he leans in, lips practically touching the shell of her ear. "Love, I have practically every color they offer. Are you trying to say you find me attractive? Devilishly handsome perhaps?"

Fighting the blush creeping up on her cheeks Emma gives him her best deadpan look and says "You're not bad. Come on you need more than a few shirts."

"Not bad!" he scoffs but follows her further into the maze of clothing.

Ten minutes later both of their arms are full with shirts and pants. "Go in there and try them on. I'll be right here." She points to the dressing room.

A few minutes later her pirate (wait, when did she start calling him that?) returns in khaki cargo shorts and the Doctor Who shirt. Aside from the hook, he looks so normal Emma can't figure out what to say. She settles for a thumbs up. Apparently it is all he needs because he heads back into the dressing room.

"Love, can you come here?" he calls.

"What is-" she was not expecting him to pull her into the dressing room and shut the door behind them. Her hand shot out to brace herself and landed directly on his chest. Which of course, is sans shirt. Almost afraid to look down, Emma finds he is wearing jeans but they aren't buttoned. She sees nothing wrong at all but before she can open her mouth to speak, his lips slant on hers and he's kissing her in a way that isn't appropriate for public. _I've never made out in a dressing room before...first time for everything I guess _she thinks before kissing him back, running her fingers through the hair on his chest before moving her hands to his back.

A short time later, his forehead is on hers and they're both gasping for breathe. "What was that about?" she asked.

"You didn't give me any feedback to the first thing I showed you. I just wanted to make sure you were still paying attention." His eyes are dancing mischievously. "So, jeans" he says, turning to show her his backside. "I think these work for me."

What in the world did she get herself into? "I'm sure they do, now please just try on the clothes."

"As you wish" he grins and begins pulling down the jeans.

"Not while I'm in here!" Emma practically squawked at him, hand flying over her mouth at her sudden outburst. Anyone nearby would easily realize he wasn't alone in the dressing room.

"Not yet." He's maneuvered her to be pressed against the wall, his hips holding her in place. "Not until you tell me you think I'm devilishly handsome, especially in the clothes of your realm."

"You're really something else." Emma says.

"Not. Something. Else. Devilishly. Handsome." each word is punctuated with a kiss trailing down her neck.

Sensing there is no way out of here without doing as he asks, Emma grits her teeth in mock annoyance and bites out the words "You're devilishly handsome."

"Thanks, love." he winks and practically shoves her out the door.

While he continues to try on the clothes Emma goes to get a cart realizing he's going to purchase much more than she expected. After the dressing room, he saunters over to the suits, points at a mannequin and says "I want one of those love."

"Where are you going to wear it?" she asks confused.

"I'm sure we can find an appropriate event in your realm for my needing formal attire." he counters.

"They measure you. And get kind of intimate." she tries, hoping it will deter him slightly.

Instead he wiggles his hips at her and walks over to a store employee holding a measuring tape. Emma lets the employee take over, showing him shirts and ties and different suit options. He settles on a classic black suit, white shirt and blue tie.

Killian struts out of the dressing room to stand before her and Emma really is speechless this time. Is there anything this man can wear and not manage to look amazing? "Very nice" she says.

Almost an hour later, the cart she got is completely overflowing and she's starting to think he is going to have more clothing than her. Jeans, t-shirts, the suit, shorts, sweaters, vests, a new leather jacket, pajamas, socks, underwear (which prompted a rather awkward conversation), a few pairs of shoes, two scarves, a hat, and a pair of sunglasses later, Emma hopes this shopping trip is complete. While he actually appears to enjoy shopping, she is more than ready to go home.

"Who would have thought Captain Hook was such a prima donna. I'm pretty sure you have more clothing than me.' Emma teased him.

"I do not know what this prima donna is that you speak of but I can assure you I am not one. I simply wish to fit into your realm and this will make it easier. But we're not done yet. I can hardly have formal attire without you having a dress." Hand on the small of her back he steers her over to the women's department.

"No." Emma says firmly. "I do not need a dress. I have no where to wear a dress."

"Then I'll find us somewhere for you to wear the dress, love. Just humor me a bit and let's pick you out something fitting of the princess that you are." he winks at her and heads to a red dress on a mannequin.

"No poof." Emma states firmly. "I absolutely refuse to wear another fluffy poofy dress."

He holds out a form-fitting red dress to her. "You really like red don't you?" she asks.

"Yes, I like the color but after seeing you in the dress in the Enchanted Forest I haven't been able to get how beautiful you are in red out of mind." There was no teasing to his tone, only sincerity.

Emma can't help but soften. Although she'll never admit it out loud, aside from that dastardly corset, Emma did like the dress that Rumple put her in and she did enjoy her first ball. Especially since she had such an attractive prince on her arm. Taking the dress from him, she heads into the fitting room.

Well, he does have good taste she concedes after slipping on the dress. It fits her perfectly, revealing just enough cleavage and stopping just above her knees.

Emma stepped out of the fitting room and heard him gasp. "You look absolutely beautiful, love. Ravishing, even. Please buy the dress." Figuring she could find somewhere to wear it eventually, Emma gave in.

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**I'm just "meh" on this one. I felt like I had a good start to it but wasn't sure how to end it. **


	7. Chapter 7: The Red dress, Part 1

**Have I mentioned yet how you all give me the warm fuzzies when I see new followers and reviews? I can't thank you enough! **

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**The Red Dress , part 1**

There was a linen envelope sitting on the kitchen counter, next to the coffee maker, addressed to her. The cursive was beautiful, very similar to calligraphy in style and not like anything you would find in this time period. The envelope was not sealed, which Emma appreciated as she had a strong urge not to destroy the beauty of the note. Carefully sliding out the card inside, she read:

_Dearest Emma, _

_You are cordially invited to join me in a wonderful evening of amusement. Kindly don your new scarlet dress and meet me at the docks at seven this evening. _

_Love, _

_Killian _

She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. What did he have planned for tonight and why was he being all formal about it, she wondered. Emma immediately searched the house for him and found he wasn't there at all. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was purposely going to avoid her for the day.

Fine, she thought. I'll just go hang out with my new baby brother. I'm sure Mary-Mar...mom would appreciate a break. Emma dressed for the day and headed over to her parents apartment.

A harried looking Snow White answered the door. The loud wailing coming from behind explained her expression quite well. "I don't know what has gotten into him! He has been so good for days and now he just won't stop crying like this. It's for hours at a time!"

"We'll let me see if I can help you. I know my memories with Henry at this age are fake, but since they came from Regina, I'm pretty sure they actually happened." Emma came in, dropped her coat on the chair and went over to the tiny bassinet where the little royal was exercising his lungs quite efficiently.

The second Emma picked him up he stopped crying. Snow looked shocked, jealous and relieved at the same time. "What did you do?" She asked.

"I have no idea" Emma replied. "I just picked him up and he stopped. But take advantage of it! Do you need to sleep, eat, anything?"

"Shower. I would absolutely die for a long hot shower." Snow confessed.

"Go!" Emma ushered her mother to the bathroom. She walked around with her brother in her arms telling him about herself.

_I'm your big sister. We have quite an age gap because of a curse that happened right after I was born. You're going to experience something I never have, growing up with both of your parents. Let me back up. Our parents were dealing with an evil queen, her name here is Regina and she's not so evil anymore, but that's besides the point. Anyway, Regina cast a curse and in order for me to be spared, our parents had to send me away. I grew up in the foster care system, which is where kids who don't have parents or have parents that can't take care of them go. It wasn't very pleasant and I was moved around from home to home a lot. You'll never have to worry about that. I'll make sure of it. _

_So when I was 17 I ran away and stole a car. (Don't ever do that!) except the car I stole, was already stolen by the man sleeping in the back seat. He told me his name was Neal and we kind of created a family together. We both had rough childhoods and I was desperate to belong to someone. A bit later we decided we were going to go to Tallahasee, it's a city in Florida. Neal had previously stolen some watches and we knew we could sell them and get enough money to move there. Except, Neal set me up. I took the watches and when I went to meet him, I was arrested instead. I was put in jail for a year. There I found out I was pregnant with your nephew Henry. I gave him up for adoption because I knew I couldn't give him the life he deserved. _

_On my 28th birthday Henry found me. He got me to bring him back here and spent all of this time trying to convince me I was the savior and I was the one to break the curse. Magic only existed in movies and fairy tales in my life. It took me a long time to believe it and it's just been one adventure after another since I came here. Your mother and I were sucked down a portal and returned to the Enchanted Forest where we ended up meeting Killian, but I knew him then only as Captain Hook. He's kind of my boyfriend now. It's confusing. We also met Cora, who was Regina's mother and even more evil than Regina. Cora was seeking revenge and ended up coming back here with Killian. She died, but that's another story. After that crazy adventure, Neal came back and I had to introduce him to Henry. Then Henry was kidnaped by minions working for Peter Pan and we took Hook's ship to Neverland to get him back. I thought all was going to be well again after we got home, but it wasn't. Regina had to cast another curse to send everyone back to the Enchanted Forest except for me and Henry. We went off with fake memories to go live in New York. We were there for a year before Killian came to find me but of course, I didn't remember him. Thank god for memory potions. But then we had to defeat the wicked witch who wanted to steal you away from us. A fight, a huge surprise for Regina and a time portal later, here we are. _

_Damn kid, you're going to have one hell of a time listening to these stories once you are old enough. _Emma realized her brother had fallen asleep in her arms. Apparently her tale of her life was boring enough to put a baby to sleep. Yeah right, she laughed.

Just as she placed him back into the bassinet, Snow came out of the bathroom. "Are you okay? Is he okay?" She asked.

"He's fine mom. I told him the story of how I ended up in Storybrooke and what has happened since then. Apparently he found it so uneventful he decided to go sleep." Emma laughed.

Snow laughed. "Poor baby is going to hear all kinds of crazy stories about his family isn't he? Not that I am complaining by any means, I really appreciated the shower, but what brings you by? Where's Henry, Killian?"

"Henry has been staying with Regina every other night practically. I want to spend time with him but I feel terrible for bringing Marian back and ruining things for Regina so I keep letting him stay there. I don't know where Killian is today. He left me a note to dress up and meet him on the docks tonight. I think he's going to keep his distance until then since he didn't say why I'm meeting him and he knows he can't lie to my face." Emma said.

Snow squealed as quietly as one can still manage to squeal while there is a sleeping baby only a few feet away. "Oh, Emma, I bet it's a date! Why else would he ask you to dress up? Do you know what you are going to wear?"

"I took him shopping a few days ago and he convinced me to get a dress we saw there. I'll wear that with a hair of heels I have." Emma replied.

"Oh I want to see it!" Snow gushed. "Could you get the dress and bring it here? Even better, could you bring everything you need and just get ready here? I could help you with your hair and makeup if you like."

The old Emma would have declined the offer and gotten ready alone, making sure there was no one to see her and especially so there was no one to ask her about how the evening went afterward. With her new resolve to include her parents more, Emma knew she couldn't say no. "Of course."

The rest of the day passed quickly, Emma did the grocery shopping for her parents and watched Neal while her mother took a short nap. At six, she got in the shower. Snow had laid out a bunch of make-up and plugged in her curling iron.

"I think Killian would really like your hair curly." Snow said. Emma realized she hadn't worn her hair curly in quite some time and set about the tedious process of curing her hair.

Snow did her make up, going for a lighter eye and brighter blush than Emma usually would have picked for herself. "Wait, I have a lipstick that will go perfectly with the dress." Emma allowed her mother to paint a deep red color on her mouth.

Changing into the dress while snow waited in the hall, Emma opened the bathroom door and came out. "How do I look?"

A huge grin broke out on Snow's face. "Oh Emma you look absolutely beautiful. You're going to knock his socks off!" Holding Neal up so he could see her she said "Isn't your big sister gorgeous? Yes, yes she is." Neal gurgled in agreement.

"Don't make me cut off his other hand Emma." David said coming up behind them. "You look gorgeous."

Emma blushed and couldn't help but feel like a teenager getting the approval of her parents before going on her first date. At least Killian spared her that much and wasn't waiting right there in the living room, listening to all of their gushing.

Kissing them all on the cheek, Emma quickly moved to the door. "I don't want to be late! Thanks for helping me get ready mom."

"Have a good time! You better tell me all about this!" She heard as she shut the door.

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**I thought I could get this all into one story, but I write too much. So, two parts it is. **

**Are you curious to know what Killian thinks of the dress? ;) **


	8. Chapter 8 The Red Dress, part 2

**For Cynnx, who thought Killian would enjoy Emma's hair curly. I think he does. :)**

**Just another daily dose of fluff with a side of fluff. **

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**The Red Dress, part 2**

Emma made it to the docks a few minutes before seven. He stood facing the water and it took Emma a minute to realize that instead of his usual pirate garb, he was dressed in the suit he bought the other day. The moonlight glittered off his hair, slightly illuminating his face and making his eyes stand out, even in the dark

. If Emma thought he looked good in the suit in the store, this was nothing compared to seeing him wearing it in another setting. It fit him perfectly, showing off every delectable inch of him. Unintentionally she groaned. This was going to be one difficult night to get through if he looked at good from a few feet away. She wasn't sure she could handle him up close looking like this, especially the way he liked to invade her personal space.

The noise must have been louder than she thought, because he turned at the sound and caught sight of her. His mouth opened but no sound came out. His eyes slowly raked over every inch of her body giving her goosebumps even from that distance. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Gods Emma you look absolutely ravishing. Deadly even. You might just kill me on the spot if you don't come kiss me." He somehow managed to be serious and teasing at the same time.

Closing the distance between them Emma lightly kissed him. "Hi" she whispered.

"Hi, beautiful. You really are a vision in that dress." He kissed her again softly and she found herself leaning into his warmth.

Her cheeks warmed at his words. "You're not so bad in a suit yourself. So why did you invite me here? You have beautiful handwriting by the way. Not what I expected at all."

"Even pirates can have pretty penmanship." He grinned at her. "I brought you here because while I pride myself on being an extremely patient man, I simply could not wait a moment longer to see you in that dress, so I created a reason for you to wear it."

"And that reason is?" She asked, looking around.

"Dinner." He replied simply and took her hand, leading her over to a boat she didn't recognize. He helped her aboard and gestured for her to go below deck.

"Who does the boat belong to?" Emma asked.

"No one. The dwarf, Leroy, was telling me to the other day that it has been here in Storybrooke since you all first arrived and no one has ever claimed it. He's been maintaining her." He said leading her down the stairs.

Votive and tea light candles covered every imaginable surface. A table was set for two with a dozen red roses in a vase. "It's beautiful." She breathed. "Who would have thought Captain Hook had a romantic side?"

"Shhhh. You must promise on your life not to tell anyone. I can't have my good pirate name further sullied by heroism _and_ romanticism." He teased.

He pulled out her chair and waited until she was comfortably situated before grabbing a bottle of wine from the counter and sitting across from her. Pouring two glasses, he held his up to her. "To you finally realizing you wanted me." He said smirking.

Unladylike as it was, Emma snorted before taping her glass gently against his. "To finally having a home." she said softly.

"Aye." he almost whispered.

"How are you pulling off dinner in a boat without a kitchen?" Emma was curious.

"I ah, may have had some help from Ruby, Henry and your father." he conceded, turning a pulling out a large covered tray.

"My father!?" Emma was shocked. "He merely made some food suggestions." Hook admitted before removing the lid of the tray to reveal two plates of a lobster salad on bibb lettuce.

"Oooo fancy." Emma grinned at him.

When they had finished eating, he removed another tray, this one holding two slices of pie. Then he reached behind him and pulled out a thermos of hot chocolate. "Ruby couldn't resist."

Emma smiled. "I think you've done rather well for planning your first date in this world, pirate." She felt like a teenager on their first date and was fairly confident she had so far spent the entire night grinning at him like a fool.

"It's not over yet. May I have this dance?" He took her hand and lead her behind the table where there was just enough room for two people to stand, albeit closely. "Henry provided me with this musical device." He pressed the button and music filled the air.

There was no formal dancing tonight. Emma wrapped her arms around his neck, leaving no space between their bodies. His hand and hook came to rest on her lower back. Emma closed her eyes and allowed him to lead, just a gentle sway. She'd never done this before, having no desire to attend high school dances and having no money for a dress to attend her prom. She felt so good in his arms, completely relaxed and carefree, the fruity smell of her shampoo invading his senses. Her skin smelled like vanilla and honey and Killian still felt the need to pinch himself to make sure this was all really happening. Would that ever stop?

One song turned into two, then three until he lost track of how long they had stood there, swaying, with her in his arms. "Love," he said and she pulled back to look in his eyes. He was surprised to see plainly see the adoration on her face. "I was so mesmerized by your dress, I failed to comment on your hair. I like it very much." He raised his hand to run his fingers through the curls, amused with how silky and soft her hair was. He continued to run his fingers through her hair, twirling the curls around his fingers and tugging lightly, entertained with how they bounced and sprung back.

She eventually broke the silence. "Having fun?"

"I confess I am intrigued by your tresses. But I have something else I'd like to explore." He replied bringing his lips to hers. Light kisses covered her mouth before he gently coaxed her mouth open with his, slowly allowing their tongues to meet and beginning an extremely slow exploration of her mouth. Cupping her face, he ran his thumb up and down her jawline. He pressed his hook a bit harder into her back, causing her to press the length of her body firmly against him. Trailing his lips across her cheek and down her neck, he paused at her pulse point and just lingered there, breathing lightly on the spot.

Emma wiggled against him. 'That tickles."

Grinning he kisses his way back up to her lips, continuing to run his fingers through her curls and began his slow assault on her mouth again. Minutes passed before he noticed she was slightly shifting back and forth from foot to foot. 'What's wrong love?" he asked.

"Oh, these heels aren't the most comfortable thing in the world, that's all." she explained.

"I believe I can remedy that." He gently returned her to her chair and pushed his back further from the table. Lifting her right leg, his fingers gently gliding over her ankle before sliding the shoe off her foot. Starting at her toes, he began massaging her foot. Curious to see what would happen, he pressed the curve of his hook into the arch of her foot and was rewarded with a low moan.

"I've never had a foot massage before and this is absolutely wonderful." she breathed.

"It's my pleasure, love." He slipped off her other shoe and switched to the other foot. "You might want to watch how much you're spoiling me. I could get used to this." she grinned at him.

"But I hope you do get used to it, love. Why should you expect anything less but to be completely and utterly doted on?"

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**Sigh, I kinda like the romantic side of the pirate, don't you? And as usual, THANK YOU for all the reviews, follows and favorites. My husband teases me that I'm going to become famous any moment now. Ha! **


	9. Chapter 9: Switch

**You should have them switch bodies, my husband said. So I went for it. I was trying to keep it light and funny, because really, Emma with a hook, but couldn't find a funny way to get them out of the situation. **

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**Switch **

Emma felt a strange buzzing sensation in her hand jolting her out of a deep sleep. Pulling her hand out from under the blankets, she finds a small white glowing ball in her hand. Gasping she realized her magic had returned.

Curious to test the return of her magic, Emma waved her hand and a hook came sailing into her room, landing on the chair. "What the bloody hell?" She heard his voice from the other room and couldn't help but giggle.

"Love?" He tapped on her partially opened door.

"Come in." She sat up in bed grinning at him as he entered. "It appears my magic came back." She pointed to his hook.

"I see." He said dryly.

"Aww you're no fun. What if I do this?" She waved her hand again, shutting her bedroom door and removing his shirt.

"Emma." He warned. She giggled, the damn wench giggled! and flicked her wrist again, removing her own shirt.

"Now we're even." She grinned. "Come here."

He didn't need a second invitation and quickly closed the space between where he stood and her bed. She scooted over making room for him before wrapping her arms around his neck and peppering his face with kisses. Her lips met his, kissing him softly. Unintentionally her wrist flicked again and a zap of electricity shot between them.

Emma gasped and froze first, looking around wildly, fear and panic in her eyes. Killian's eyes met her own as the realization dawned on him. "What did you do?" He asked barely keeping the panic out of his voice, except it came out as hers.

"I don't know!" She replied. It was extraordinarily unsettling to look at the woman you loved and hearing your voice come from her mouth.

"Switch us back! I can't be in your body and you bloody well can't be in mine!" He exclaimed.

"I might have flicked my wrist while we were kissing. Kiss me again, I'll try it." Emma couldn't keep the panic out of her (his?) voice now.

He brought his lips to hers, which was rather awkward to feel as though your kissing yourself, and she flicked her wrist. Nothing happened. "You try." She said "maybe we need to switch that too." Kissing again he flicked his wrist this time with no luck.

"What are we going to do?" She moaned, bring her hand up to scratch behind her ear.

Killian was silent for a few moments. "Is this really what I look like to you?"

"What?"

"It's like looking into a mirror but not. Do I really scratch behind my ear like that?"

She snorted. "Yeah. When you're nervous or embarrassed. It's kind of adorable really."

He fixed her with a stare. "Wait, how are you doing without a hand?"

"I hadn't even noticed honestly, it feels like my fingers are there, just that I can't move them. How...how are you doing in my body?" She asked.

Looking down at their current state of undress he replied "the view is very nice."

She shoved him, practically off the bed unaware of her strength in his body. "Shit! I'm sorry!"

"S'alright love. Can we please get this sorted out?"

"Considering Regina isn't speaking to me, we're going to need to take our chances with Gold." She replied.

He groaned. "Just bloody lovely."

They quickly dressed, being as awkward as one might imagine in the others body and hurried over to Golds shop where they found him and Belle inside.

"Gold, we need your help. My magic is back and we've somehow switched bodies." Emma said.

"You've what?" He looked at them in astonishment while Belle couldn't help the snicker that escaped her mouth.

"I was in bed and my hand was tingly. I looked down and my magic was back. I was testing it out and-"

"I don't need the particulars of what you do in bed with your pirate, dearie. Just exactly what you were doing when it happened." Gold interrupted.

"Kissing. I think I accidentally flicked my wrist." Gold was amused to find not only the savior but her pirate blushing at this admission.

"Can't say I've encountered this before. Belle and I will need to do some research. Think you can manage to stay out of trouble until then?" He asked.

They both nodded. "I'll come to you when I've figured out how to reverse this. You'll be at your home Miss Swan?"

Back at her house, Emma had no idea what to do. Just being in Killian's body felt extremely wrong and she assumed he felt the same. Neither spoke, just sat on the couch. The tv was on but only providing background noise as neither had any ability to focus on anything other than their current ridiculous state.

Figuring they might as well eat something, she went to the kitchen to prepare lunch and stopped short of reaching for the fridge with her left hand. Or rather, his hook. This was going to take some getting used to. "Do you think you could give me a hand in the kitchen?" He snorted at her pun, but joined her anyway, both arms held out.

It was bitterly cold and Emma was craving soup. She had him cut up the vegetables, not feeling confident to secure any of them with a hook. Soup now simmering on the stove, Emma made hot chocolate. She needed something comforting.

After the soup they both continued to sit dejectedly on the couch. "Emma" he said, face twisted in horror. "I have to pee. I can't do this in your body!"

"I don't see any other choice. Let's hope whatever Gold comes up with to switch us back also involves not remembering any of this." She replied.

Seven excruciatingly long hours later there was a knock at the door. Killian rushed to it, throwing it open and ushering Gold and Belle inside, something he never expected he would do in this lifetime.

"Belle has found a way to reverse this...situation you have found yourself in, but I must remind you that all magic comes with a price." Gold was grinning, something Hook and Emma found very unsettling.

"And what is the price?" Emma asked.

"You'll need to drink this" Belle replied "but it will cause you both to relive each other's worst times. Once you have seen it all, you will be returned to your own body." She was apologetic.

"Why is _that _the price?" Emma couldn't help but ask.

"Miss Swan, you've done something rather unusual with magic. Typically when one wants to inhabit another's body, it is for evil not good, therefore the price to pay to return to their own body is not pleasant. Had you performed the spell properly, only you would be in his body and he would be in a sleep-like state until you returned to your own. However, I can assume because you were touching when the spell occurred it switched you both." Gold was impatient and curt, but truly appeared to be enjoying this.

"Fine. Thanks." Hook reached out and took the bottle from Belle. "We'd appreciate doing this I'm private."

Gold laughed that eerie high pitched giggle but walked out the door. "I really am sorry about this. I wish it could be more pleasant." Belle said as she followed Gold out the door.

"Let's get this over with love." His mouth was set in a grim line.

"Together?" She asked.

He nodded, hand finding hers and took a gulp of the potion before handing her the bottle. It was bitter and tasted like dirt. Killian had a faint memory of being a child and being fed beets which tasted remarkably similar. He waited for something to happen and just when he started to think nothing would, images began flashing before his eyes.

Home after home. A small, sad child that must be Emma. A jail cell, intense pain in the lower half of this body, flashes of lonely nights, desperation in Neverland, sadness before returning to New York, intense fear while shaking a soaking wet version of him. And then it was over.

Emma gulped back the liquid a second after Killian. Death was her first sensation, followed by betrayal, mourning of Liam, fury and rage at Milah, longing in Neverland, heart break as she turned to her bug parked right at the town line, devastation at Zelena's curse, heart break at her words of not trusting him and then it was all over.

They both blinked slowly and found they were back in their own bodies. Confused eyes met each other. "I thought it was supposed to be terrible." Emma said.

"As did I, love. I don't know why we were spared but I am appreciately. I'm sorry for whatever you had to see."

"I'm so sorry for hurting you. I never stopped trusting you." Her voice was raw with emotion as she threw her arms around his neck pulling him close to her.

"It's okay love. You've made it up to me." He murmured in her hair, bringing his lips to hers. Warmth enveloped both of them with a faint electrical undercurrent running through them.

"Was that...?" He trailed off.

"Maybe? I don't know." She was baffled. If that was True Love's Kiss why did it just happen now? They had kissed many times since returning from the portal. She couldn't say it, but she did love him. He loved her. But there was no glow, no ripple. So what was that?

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**I do plan on explaining what that was, although I think Emma is going to become gun-shy of her magic again after this little mishap. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Killian has some vulnerable moments, Emma finds out what happened in their kiss and generally just a lot of feel good fluff. **

Thank you again and again for the reviews, follows and favorites. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

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"Your...phone is making noise." Killian said, bringing it to Emma in the kitchen.

She stood in front of the stove wearing the same pajamas she was wearing the day he first came to her apartment in New York. Instead of eggs, she was making French toast. Humming along to a song only heard in her head, his breathe caught in his throat at just how happy she was. It felt like such a rare sight to see her like this and Killian could only dare to hope it would be a frequent occurrence.

"It's my mom. You could have answered it." She smiled at him.

Texting Henry at her request was one thing, but answering her phone when her mother was on the line was quite another. Did they even know he was staying here? Sure they decorated a room much to his liking but even that wouldn't be nearly as intimate as speaking to her mother at eight in the morning.

"Hi mom" Emma practically sang into the phone. "Oh, I'm just making French toast for breakfast... He's at Regina's, should be here this afternoon...for Killian and I."

Hook gulped.

"How's my baby brother? ...Yeah, sleep deprivation is no fun. How is dad taking it? ...Tonight?! But you just said...no, I know. But it hasn't even been two weeks. You're not supposed to be this functional! Are you sure? Really? ...Fine, seven o'clock. We'll see you then."

Setting her phone on the counter, Emma dipped a slice of bread into the cinnamony egg batter. It was her one culinary secret, only egg yolks, cream instead of milk, a tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla and a heavy dose of cinnamon made the best French toast in the world. Well, she and Henry thought so at least.

It had barely been a minute but he couldn't take it anymore. "What is at seven love?"

Emma looked up from her assembly line of bread and egg batter. "Oh, my mom is crazy, it hasn't even been two weeks since she gave birth and we just had the coronation last week but she's determined to throw a family dinner."

"I'm sure it will be splendid. Your parents are known for throwing lovely parties." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Emma studied him for a minute before she realized why. "Uh, you're coming with me and Henry. Why would you think you weren't invited?"

He had trouble meeting her eyes. "You tell your mother that you're making me breakfast when it's obvious I've stayed the night and I'm supposed to believe I would be invited to dinner. The last thing your parents want is their daughter with a pirate, that I'm sure of. They're likely too wrapped up in your new sibling to deal with me yet."

"Hey" she said softly reaching for his hand. "My mom was in on decorating that room. She knows you are staying here. That I want you here. My father helped you plan a date. Apparently the entire diner saw us kissing. You followed me through a frickin time portal and helped me have my parents fall in love. What is it going to take for you to accept you're part of my life, Henry's life, that you're welcome here?"

"I just..." He didn't know what to say. Granted he had spent the last two years being a part of something but he had centuries of not and it wasn't something easily overcome.

"Face it Captain, you're just part of the family now" she teased, squeezing his hand.

"Why do I feel as though I should prepare for the bloody inquisition then?" He asked.

Emma laughed. "Probably wouldn't hurt. I didn't say this would be easy. But we'll get through it fine. Now help me with breakfast." She handed him a jug of orange juice and pointed at the two glasses on the counter.

...seven o'clock...

They were almost running late, all because a certain pirate took forever to get dressed. Not a Prima Donna at all, Emma huffed from the bottom of the stairs. "Come on you two!" She called up the stairs.

Henry had returned home an hour earlier and was supposedly helping Killian get ready.

"Are you sure this looks okay? I feel bloody ridiculous." Hook asked. He was wearing jeans, a button down shirt and a vest. All of his usual jewelry remained.

"I'm telling you, it's fine. Now come on, mom hates to be late." Henry was beginning to sound exasperated.

"If it's not fine, I'm bloody well blaming it on you." Killian grumbled and followed Henry down the steps.

Emma smiled and raised and eyebrow when she saw him. "So you really do clean up nice when not in leather." She whispered as he helped her put on her coat.

...

Mary-Margaret had made a beef and vegetable stew, a loaf of homemade crusty bread, a large garden salad and double chocolate brownies.

The smells were tantalizing, stopping the three of them in their tracks as soon as they walked through the door.

"It smells so good in here." Henry said flipping into a chair.

"Seriously, how did you do all this in one day?" Emma asked.

"Your mother has a talent for pulling together a feast on short notice. I blame it on the dwarves." David replied.

Killian stood awkwardly until Emma grabbed his hand and pulled him down into the chair next to her. "Relax pirate" she whispered. He noticed she didn't let go of his hand, instead resting them on the table in front of them. He caught David's raised eyebrow and the grin from Mary-Margaret. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad if at least her mother was on their side already. Despite all the looks and comments in Neverland and since he brought Emma back from New York, Killian knew he was slowing beginning to win her father over.

"So you're living with my daughter and grandson." David stated, causing Emma and Henry to both choke on their drink.

Or maybe not.

"Aye." Killian wasn't sure if he wanted to elaborate.

"While it is common in this realm, I'm still not completely sure I approve of it." David said bluntly.

Killian decided to try honesty. "If I were in your shoes mate, I can't say would necessarily feel different. But I appreciate Emma's generosity and I quite enjoy spending time with them both."

This appeared to placate David for the time being as he just nodded and helped his wife bring dishes to the table.

"Wine or would you prefer rum, Killian?" Snow asked, smiling warmly at him.

"Wine is fine, milady."

They ate in silence, but not an uncomfortable one. Killian could not get over how delicious all of the food was. He knew how to cook the very basics but without a real kitchen on his ship, he chose to leave the better meals to when he visited a tavern.

"I think I wish to learn to cook like this ." He didn't realize he had spoken the words aloud until Snow enthusiastically responded that she would love to teach him.

"Oh, I...you're much too busy taking care of your young royal."

"Nonsense. Babies sleep. Sometimes even for hours. How about Wednesday?" Snow was practically bubbling with excitement. Not only would it give her a chance to politely inquire from him how his relationship with her daughter was going, but she had a feeling the pirate would soon get bored of just sitting around.

Killian glanced at Emma who nodded encouragingly. "If you insist milady."

"I do. Come over around noon."

He nodded. Meal complete, she rose to began clearing dishes. Emma immediately jumped to help her. Killian rose to do so as well, but David's hand on his arm stopped him. "I think Emma wishes to speak to her mother about something." He nodded in their direction. Killian followed with his eyes and saw them speaking in hushed tones. Bloody lovely he thought.

"You're intentions of my daughter?" David asked.

Killian blanched at him. With a hint of irritation in his voice he responded "I thought I made my intentions about your daughter perfectly clear when I returned to bring you all to Neverland, what I confessed in the Echo Caves, when I went to New York to bring her back, when I was cursed by Zelena and when I followed her through a damn bloody time portal." He practically spat out the last words.

"Just teasing you. I do remember what a certain Prince Charles said to me about his princess. The ends of the world or time? I hope your journey, in that sense, has ended." David looked thoughtful.

Killian just stared at him not sure how to reply when David asked him another question. "When did you realize you loved her?"

"Somewhere between being chained at the top of a beanstalk with an angry giant and getting knocked over the head with a compass." Killian replied dryly.

"So much like her mother." David grinned. His tone turned serious again. "I'm trusting you not to hurt her."

Holding up his right hand Killian looked the prince directly in the eye and said "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Let's go see what Henry is doing." The prince gestured for him to lead into the living room.

"Can I ask you something?" Emma said quietly to her mother taking a dish from her hands.

"Of course Emma. What is it?" Concern immediately crept into Snow's voice.

"My magic came back yesterday. This is going to sound crazy. We were kissing and I accidentally flicked my wrist. We switched bodies and had to go to Gold to reverse it." At her mothers alarmed expression Emma continued. "But that's not what I want to know. After we switched back we kissed again and there was this thing that happened. It was warm and like a static charge between us. But that's not...it isn't..."

"True Love's Kiss?"Snow supplied. "No that is more intense." She couldn't help but be a but excited that Emma looked disappointed. All she had ever hoped for, aside from Emma's safety and well being, is that she could experience a love as true and pure as what she shared with David.

"I'm not saying that you aren't each other's true love, but I think what you experienced is actually a bit deeper. Aside from being in each other's bodies, did anything traumatic happen?"

Emma nodded. "In other to switch back, we had to relive each other's worst times, but they really weren't that bad. I thought I was going to see terrible things but it seemed to just gloss over the pain. Killian said the same thing happened to him."

"As I thought. You created an eternal bond. You've already experienced heartaches with each other and are still in love, so the memories of the worst times were dulled. You'll be able to get through anything together as long as you both believe in each other, in the bond. The bond is just as strong, if not stronger, than the magic of True Love's Kiss."

Emma couldn't help but gasp. Now there was really no doubting that she loved him and no ability to hide it from her mother anymore.

"It's a good thing Emma. Don't let it worry you. You don't need to tell him right away. I'm sure he knows anyway. Now come on, let's see if these men if ours are ready for dessert."

David and Killian both passed on dessert just yet, but Henry could not pass up chocolate if he tried. Emma sat down next to Killian, taking his hand in hers again.

...later that night...

"Sleep in here tonight?" She asked softly.

"But your lad-"

"He's fine with it."

"I'll change and be in."

Emma changed into her own pajamas, pants and a tank top made of the softest cotton. She had just finished unmaking the bed when he came back in.

She immediately curled into him as he settled into her bed. "I didn't peg you for the cuddling type Swan." He teased her.

"I just..." She faltered on the words. "I don't feel like being alone tonight."

Squeezing her tighter he replied "I'll never leave you alone, love."

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**thought on the eternal bond? I kinda pulled that one out of thin air. **


	11. Chapter 11: lazy sunday

**In my head this started off as a total lazy Sunday, complete with staying in pajamas all day and not moving from the couch, but the story took a life of its own. Captain Cobra was a little harder to write than I thought, but that's probably because Henry fully accepts Killian in my head and they've already bonded. **

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**Lazy Sunday **

It should have been spring, but winter was still holding on tight, grasping them in her clutch. The skies were a dull gray, filled with lifeless gray clouds, a threat of rain or possibly snow looming in the air. Even the ocean appeared to to have lost her blue hue, adopting a grayish tint as well. It was dreary and depressing.

Emma had a hard time dragging herself out of bed. This was the type of day where you just curled up with a good book, some hot chocolate and did nothing more strenuous than nap. However, since returning to her sheriffs position, the pile of paperwork was growing taller by the day and she knew if she didn't go in on her day off to get some of it caught up, she'd never get to leave on time this week.

Trudging down the stairs she found Henry and Killian at the kitchen table, both drinking hot chocolate. Another mug still steaming sat next to Killian. "For me?" She gestured. He nodded.

"I have to go into the station for a bit today to get caught up on paperwork. Do you think you two can stay out of trouble and keep yourselves amused for a few hours?" Emma asked.

"Sure! We can watch movies all day. Do you think you could bring back some food though? The fridge is getting kind of bare." Henry jumped at the chance to spend the day alone with Killian.

Placing her empty mug in the sink, Emma tugged on her boots and coat. Kissing them both goodbye she made them promise to behave and that she'd bring back lunch.

"I dare say your mother is convinced we can only be up to nothing good." Killian said.

"We're not up to anything...yet." Henry grinned.

Killian began to feel something he had not felt in a few centuries. Nervous. Just what was the boy planning on dragging him into? Would it upset Emma?

"Come on, let's start the movies. Today I'm going to show you the movies with superheroes. Good guys who get to save the world and stuff. Were gonna start with Iron Man because I think you'll find him funny."

Killian allowed himself to be dragged to the couch. He sat patiently as Henry started the DVD. It wasn't long before he was completely enraptured by the movie. He liked this superhero. A ladies man with the right amount of confidence but still not willing to back down from a challenge. The movie ended and Henry told him there was a sequel, but didn't put in the next DVD.

"Are you okay with living here?" Henry asked catching him off guard. "I mean, I know you don't have your ship anymore but this was kind of sudden. Is it okay here with us?"

Killian didn't know how to respond at first. He immediately sensed that the boy just wasn't curious as to whether he found the accommodations pleasing. "I am quite happy here with both of you. I miss my ship, the lull of the waves putting me to sleep at night, but I wouldn't change what I did."

"You can start sleeping in my moms room, you know. I feel like your staying in the other room because I'm here. You don't have to. The other room could be an office or something. I just don't want to see you kissing and all." Henry couldn't help but grimace at the word kissing.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind about kissing one day in the near future lad. I have stayed in the room your mother offered me because I like it there. If your mother wishes for me to share the room with her, I would." Hook doesn't know how to continue. The lad is disgusted at the thought of kissing. Should he really be having this conversation with the boy?

"That boat, the one you had dinner with my mom on? Do you think we could go out on it again? I want to learn more about sailing." Henry is almost shy in his words.

"I believe we'd have to get permission from Leroy as he is the one maintaining the ship, but if he approves, I would quite enjoy an day on the seas with you. If your mother approves, of course." Looking out the window "and if the weather is willing to cooperate. I never thought I'd miss the heat and humidity of Neverland but it is quite cold in this realm."

Killisn thinks of the drawing of the Jolly Roger he is still carrying in his coat pocket. "Just a minute lad" he says and dashes did to his room. Keeping the parchment folded, he says "when your mother and I returned to New York to pack up your belongings, I was tasked with your room. I did not snoop, lad, but I found this." He unfolded the paper.

Henry blushes a little. "I drew it after we came back from Neverland. I remember looking at it so many times when we were in New York and wondering where it came from, why I felt like it had so much significance."

"Could I...may I..." Hook doesn't know how to finish.

"Do you want it? It's the only picture you have of your ship, right?" Henry asked.

"Aye. That it is. I would be honored to keep it. Thank you very much." He is unsure of how to express his gratitude.

"You need a frame. Come on, let's go into town and get one." Henry was bouncing with impatience.

"We told your mom we'd be here watching movies." Killian started.

Henry held up his cell phone. "I'll text her and tell her what we're doing. Come on we gotta get dressed." Henry dashed up the stairs. Reluctantly Killian followed him thinking he might want to see this text message to Emma before they actually left. He was still hesitant to have Henry in his care after then Zelena event at the docks.

He met Henry downstairs a few moments later, dressed and ready to go. "Can I see what you sent her?" He asked.

Henry tossed him the phone which he easily caught. Pressing the buttons as Emma showed him, he found the lad had actually sent a truthful message to his mother.

They walked side by side into town heads huddled down against the whipping of the wind. Killian began to really appreciate the scarf he had picked up when shopping with Emma. "Warmer than your old clothes?" Henry asked, also completely bundled up. Killian nodded.

By the time the made it to town they both felt half frozen and it was less than a half mile walk. Teeth chattering Henry suggested they stop at Granny's for some hot cocoa before searching forms picture frame. He quickly agreed. It was bloody freezing out here. Ruby grinned brightly at them both as she made their hot chocolates.

"Shall we take one to your mother before starting our quest for a frame?" Killian asked. Henry agreed and Ruby quickly made another hot chocolate in a to-go cup. Killian couldn't help but smile at the last time he really paid attention to the to-go cup, when Emma had magicked it in front of him claiming she could start her own franchise.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

Henry held up the hot chocolate. "Thought you could use some."

She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you!"

"It was Killian's idea." Henry was smirking at her. "You should thank him."

Emma pursed her lips at her son before quickly hugging Killian and saying thank you.

"You kissed me." Henry remarked.

"I thought kissing was gross." Emma countered.

Henry turned around, sticking his fingers in his ears. "Can't see you. Can't hear you. But make it quick."

Killian's face felt warm. What was this about? Emma met his eyes with her own amused and bewildered look before pulling him to her for a short kiss.

"Okay, we gotta go now. We need to find a picture frame. Can you bring home some soup from Granny's?" Henry spun around to find them inches from each other. It appeared he missed the gross part.

"Chicken noodle?" Emma asked.

Henry nodded and practically pulled Killian out of the police station. "Stay warm" she called after them.

Henry led Killian to a small shop a few doors down from the station. It was full of assorted knock knacks and various items. One aisle was full of nothing but picture frames. They stood there, trying to narrow down the selection until Henry found a simple nickel-brushed frame in the right size. "I like this one, but we need three."

"Three?" Killian asked.

"Yeah I have something else to show you after this. Oh! This one will work." Henry held up a folding frame, each side holding a 5x7 image. After paying for the frames Killian allowed Henry to lead him further down the street to a small shop with a blue awning that simply read Photography. Inside, Henry walked over to a machine and attached his phone to it. "This allows me to take pictures from my phone and have them printed on paper so they can go in the frame."

Killian marveled at the technology while Henry scrolled through the pictures. A few minutes later they had the photographs in hand. One was of Emma talking to Killian as he sat at the desk in his room. Her back was to the picture but his was clearly lit up with amusement at something she had said. The other picture was from the family dinner the night before, Emma holding his hand on the table, neither looking at the camera but both with a content look on their faces.

"When did you take these pictures? I don't remember either of them."

"I like taking pictures when people aren't looking. I think it captures who they are better." Henry replied.

Killian couldn't disagree but he also couldn't help but notice the talent the boy possessed at capturing wonderful images. Almost as if he were capturing memories. The cashier agreed, stating that she thought they were wonderful pictures.

When they returned home Henry immediately went to the dining room and opened the curio cabinet, placing the pictures inside. Killian took the framed picture of his ship to his room and placed it on the nightstand.

He stared at the drawing, remembering the smooth feel of her rails beneath his hands. The rough fabric of the sails that kept her going. The cubby holes in his cabin where he stored his most prized possessions. The wheel where he taught Bae to sail. Where he had hoped to teach Henry. The look on Emma's face when he came back to take them to Neverland. His mind drifted to sitting outside of Granny's that night with Emma. They way she reached for him before going to sleep. The pictures Henry took of them. The Jolly Roger may have been his first home but he hoped this would be his last.

He and Henry continued to watch superhero movies for the rest of the afternoon until Emma returned with soup. Henry showed her the new pictures in the curio cabinet. Emma couldn't stop the slight prickling sensation or wetness she felt behind her eyelids. Pulling Henry into a long hard hug, she squeezed him extra tight and simply said "thank you".

Not quite full from the soup, Henry made popcorn and put in another movie. He was at one end of the couch, Killian at the other. Emma sat between them, eventually leaning back against Killian who slid his arm around her. By the time the movie was halfway through, Henry was almost lying in Emma's lap. Looking down at both of them Killian realized he never felt happier.

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**again, you're all wonderful and awesome for all of the reviews, favorites and follows. For this only being my third story I'm feeling all kinds of love. Thank you again! **


	12. Chapter 12: Cooking Lessons

**I'm sorry I took forever to update! I've been super busy at work lately and I've only had about thirty minutes a night to write. This chapter is pretty long, I didn't realize how much dialogue goes into explaining cooking! As a food blogger, I had a bit too much fun with this one, with Snow giving Killian various bits of cooking information. I also kept switching between calling her Snow and Mary-Margaret. She's just one of the characters that can be called either to me. Sorry if that is confusing. **

**Also, the reviews and follows! Wow, you guys I am really feeling the love! **

**But you're not here for me, you're here for Emma and Killian so, without further adieu...**

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**Cooking Lessons**

_He's hovering over her looking at her with eyes full of love, adoration and hint of possession. _

_She can feel the cold steel of his hook against her side. His other hand tangles and twists in hair. _

_Emma is buzzing with anticipation and nothing has happened yet. _

_His gaze turns darker, eyes flitting to her lips and he finally - _finally - _leans down to kiss her. It's a mixture of gentle and possessive, sweet and fierce. She knows what he is doing. Every kiss, every movement of his tongue is claiming her as his. Emma has no desire to fight him on this. She is his. Completely. She can't help the sigh that escapes her lips. _

_His lips trail open-mouth kisses down her neck, stopped to swirl his tongue on her pulse point making her gasp. As quick as the flick of a lightswitch, everything has changed. She wants him, needs him now and has no desire to drag this out any longer than they already have. _

_Her hands to go his head, running her fingers through his hair and scratching his scalp as he works his way back up her neck, nipping on her earlobe. He moves slightly, allowing his mouth to feast on the other side of her neck. Emma can't stop her hips from lifting into him, pulling his mouth to hers, biting his bottom lip. _

_Meeting his eyes she releases his lip. "Don't make me wait any longer." _

_His brilliant blue eyes widen and darken instantly, almost black with desire. "As you wish, love" He pulls back, dragging her thin tank top over her head. He gives her an incredibly sexy grin before removing his hook and allowing it to drop on the floor next to the bed with a dull thud. _

...

Emma's eyes flew open. _You've got to be kidding me. That was a dream?! _Her heart is thumping wildly in her chest, her skin still tingles from his lips.

Another thud. Followed by his deep laugh and a loud "Sshhh" from Henry.

She can't help but be curious at what is going on out there, but allows herself to lie in bed until her heart rate returns to normal and she thinks she'll be able to face him without turning a deep shade of red.

Minutes later there is a soft knock at her door. "Mom?" Henry calls.

"Come in." They both enter her bedroom, Henry carrying a mug of hot chocolate and Killian carrying a tray. They pause next to her bed, placing the hot chocolate on the nightstand,the tray on her lap. Her lips curl into a bemused grin. "What's this?"

"We thought we'd keep it simple." Henry nods at the cinnamon toast on the tray. Next to the toast is a small bowl of strawberries and banana slices.

"Yes, but why?" She can't help but ask.

"Why not love? Do you not deserve breakfast, albeit lacking, in bed?" He looked so content.

"I thought I mentioned something about spoiling me." She had a hard time meeting his eyes after that dream.

"You might not want to go downstairs then." Henry grinned, leaving the room.

"What why?" Emma couldn't keep the panic out of her voice.

"In due time love, now please enjoy the breakfast we made for you." He turned to leave and Emma couldn't help but watch him walk out the door. _Damn dream! Damn cocky pirate saunter! _

Breakfast finished, she quickly dressed and headed downstairs to see what they had done. She stopped short the second her feet hit the bottom step. The house hadn't been messy, but Henry's voice games were on the table in the living room, shoes were haphazardly piled up by the door, her jacket and scarf were thrown over a dining room chair and a pile of mail had accumulated on the kitchen counter.

Well, at least it looked like that last night. Now everything was put away into its proper place. The dining room table and end tables in the living room gleamed with furniture polish. The kitchen floor practically sparkled, there wasn't a stray crumb anywhere on the counter and the entire area smelled faintly of lemon. Walking into the kitchen she found that every appliance was sparkling as well and even the sink was scrubbed clean. It was then she noticed the clock on the microwave, barely ten after eight. How early did they wake up to do all this? And why?

Killian came up behind her. "The lad and I both awoke around six and he had the idea to do some cleaning so you could relax after work today." It was almost as though he had read her mind.

"I, well, thank you. I really appreciate it. So, cooking lessons with my mom today. How do you think that is going to go?" Emma asked.

A slight frown formed on Killians face. "I am not sure lass, I do not think I will be very useful in the kitchen and I fear your mother will waste her time teaching me for naught."

"What happened to my overly self confident pirate? I'm no Gordon Ramsey in the kitchen but even I can tell you it really isn't that hard. I'm sure she's going to have you follow a recipe. All you need to do is read the recipe through first." Emma tried to be reassuring.

"If you say so love." There was still no confidence in his voice.

Emma didn't know how to respond, to assure him it wouldn't be a disaster. At least, she hoped it wouldn't. Killian was always so fully of confidence, knowing exactly what to tell her any time she ever doubted herself and now that the situation was reversed she had no magic words to restore his confidence. Playing up to his old ways, she grinned and asked "wanna make a bet?"

His eyebrow quirked and she could see him weighing his chances of winning before agreeing to the bet. "What do you wager?"

"If you cook a decent meal, I'll give you something you want. If you don't, you have to do something for me." She replied, purposely being vague.

"Specifically?" He asked.

"I don't know yet, but I'm sure we can both think of something. Now I gotta run, I'm late to the station." She gave him a quick kiss before shouting a "bye, I love you, be good" to Henry.

...cooking lessons...

Killian arrived a few minutes early to the Charming's apartment with Henry in tow. The mere fact that the boy was with him stopped him from running there just to get it over with. "Are you sure you want to be here for this? I could burn the apartment down or fling boiling hot liquid on you."

Henry laughed. "Grandma is not going to let you burn anything down and there will be no hot liquids flung. She's a teacher, you're going to be fine."

Grumbling, Killian knocked on the door. Grinning from ear to ear Snow opened the door and ushered them inside. Henry headed over to the couch, iPad in hand. "I'm so excited for this. I was hoping Emma would one day ask me to teacher her to cook but teaching you will be just as fun. I can just picture her coming home from a long day and the look of joy on her face from having a home cooked meal prepared."

"I do not possess much hope that culinary skills will be my forte milady." He confessed.

"Nonsense! Everyone can learn how to cook. It's all about reading recipes. Plus it never hurts to believe that you will do well. I think it adds just a little something to the dish. Neal just went down for a nap, so if we are lucky, we have a few hours to spend in the kitchen."

"You are sure, milady, that I am not keeping you from more important duties? Emma has said that when the baby sleeps the mother must get as much done as possible or even perhaps restore her own energy with a nap herself." Killian asked.

"I'm sure, Killian. I swear to you there is nothing I'd rather be doing right now. And call me Snow or Mary-Margaret or Mom or something. 'Milady' is not necessary, you're part of the family!"

Killian was sure he would never tire of hearing that. Emma had said it to him boundless times since their return from New York, even the lad had said it, but it was something even more special coming from his princess's mother. He smiled and nodded at her.

"With the Wicked Witch running around I didn't get to prepare like I wanted to. I've read books and blogs that talk about stocking your freezer with meals that you can just pull out and heat up, since you never know when the baby is going to be fussy and you won't be able to cook. I have the time now, so we're making a few dishes. I thought it would be the best way to teach you." Snow smiled at him. "We're making beef stew, lasagna roll ups and chicken noodle soup."

Killian just blinked at her, not knowing how to respond. He'd never cooked a proper meal in his life and now the woman thought he was going to make three? He accepted the black apron she handed him and put it on. At least it wasn't lacy blue and frilly like the one she was wearing. Looking down he realized it said "kiss the cook" and he couldn't help but laugh.

"David picked it out."

"Your husband has interesting taste in clothing."

Snow laughed and motioned for him to join her at the counter. She had two cutting boards next to each other, a knife placed on top, a variety of bowls and plates in different sizes and an incredible amount of produce sitting on the counter.

"Mise en place. It's French for putting in place, meaning were going to have all of our ingredients out and ready so when it comes to cooking we can be more efficient. First we're going to cut up all of the vegetables for each recipe and put them in the bowls and plates. Then we'll see what needs to be cooked or baked and go from there. I assume you can at least cut up vegetables with a knife?" She asked.

"Aye, I've done as much before." Killian replied.

"Great, I'll have you get started on the beef stew while I chop up the vegetables for the chicken noodle soup. Here's the recipe, read through it entirely first. Then go back through and see how the vegetables need to be prepared." She handed him a sheet of paper.

_Peel and slice carrots, peel and quarter potatoes, dice onion, cut green beans into thirds. _He read. _Well, that seems manageable. _

Killian began prepping the vegetables as Mary-Margaret watched. He had a bit of trouble peeling the carrots and potatoes, but found if he stabbed the vegetable with the end of his hook and held it upright, peeling went much easier. A few minutes later he finished and looked to her for direction.

"Great, they're all going to cook at the same time, so you can put them in this bowl. Chop these up finely and stick them in this bowl." He turned to see her handing him a package of mushrooms.

He did as she said, all the while wondering when they were actually going to get to the cooking part.

"Beef stew first. You're going to measure a half cup of flour," she handed him a measuring cup "place it in this dish, then you're going to add salt and pepper and stir it all together...Good, now you're going to place the beef cubes in flour and toss them around until they're coated, shaking off the extra flour and putting them on this plate for now. Add a little bit of oil to the Dutch oven I have back here and heat it over medium-high heat. Good, now transfer the beef to the pot and you're going to stir it every few minutes until it gets browned on all sides. It's going to stick a little bit, which is good." While the beef browned, she laid out the lasagna noodles.

"Okay, now you're almost ready to add everything to the pot. You can measure out the spices and put them in this small dish." Killian complied. "Now add in half of the beef broth and were going to switch to a wooden spoon. You're going to gently scrape up the browned bits at the bottom. This is called deglazing and gives a wonderful flavor...Good, now let's reduce the heat to medium low and add in the rest of the ingredients, the vegetables, water, remaining beef broth and spices. Place this lid on there and were going to let it simmer while we prepare the lasagna rolls. You're better at this than you think so I'm just going to watch you, okay?"

Feeling more confident than he ever intended, Killian nodded. "Aye, but how long does the stew cook for?"

"At least an hour until the vegetables are tender. You'll want to check it periodically to make sure there's still enough liquid and then at the end we'll add in a thickener if it hasn't done it naturally." She smiled. _Good question for a beginner. _

Killian grabbed the next sheet of paper with the recipe for the lasagna roll ups. He mixed together a combination of cheeses, an egg and some spices in one bowl. In another went the tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and mushrooms. Killian found he had fun spreading the cheese mixture down the noodles Mary-Margaret had prepared. The red sauce didn't go on as easily and rolling them up proved to be a bit of a challenge but he mastered it after a few rolls. She placed a whole sheet tray of them in the freezer.

"I'm going to check the beef stew now" he said, lifting off the heavy lid. The smell that wafted up to him was incredible. He hasn't smelled beef stew this tasty in close to a century.

Snow leaned over his shoulder. "There's still a good amount of liquid in there. Poke the vegetables with this fork and see if they fall back into the pot or not."

He speared a potato and carrot chunk and found them still hard in the center. "I believe it needs more time."

She nodded in agreement. It appeared he was a natural at cooking, he just needed some guidance and reassurance. "Let's move onto the soup? You're going to find out one of my little secrets...I use a pre-made rotisserie chicken to cut down on time. It increases the flavor and saves time. But don't tell anyone, especially David!"

Killian winked. "I shall take your secret to my grave."

She had him chop up carrots, celery and onions and informed him it was called another French term, mirepoix. He sautéed the vegetables in a little bit of olive oil until softened, learning that butter was a good substitute, and then added the chicken, skin on, spices and broth to the large stock pot.

It smelled wonderful in the apartment. Henry had given up whatever he was doing on that electronic device and had come to join them, sitting at the island in the kitchen.

"What do you want to have for dinner tonight? I thought we could call Emma and see if she could join us for dinner since you and Henry are already here." Snow asked.

Henry and Killian regarded each other briefly before saying "beef stew" at the same time.

"Wonderful!" Mary-Margaret clapped her hands in delight. "I'll ask David to pick up a loaf of crusty bread at the store. We don't have enough time to allow one to rise properly or I'd show you how to do that too."

After the chicken soup had simmered for an hour, she had him remove all of the chicken skin, shred the meat and return it to the pan with a few more spices. At her instruction he tasted tested the soup and the stew and found they both tasted just as good as they smelled.

The stew didn't need thickening so Mary-Margaret divided it into two portions and put one in a container to freeze. She divided the soup and placed one in the freezer. "You're going to take the other one home. You'll just need to add the noodles before you eat it." She told Killian.

"But you said we are stocking your chilled food contraption, milady, I shall not take your food!" He stated.

She laughed. "You made these meals, not me. It is only fair that you get to take one home! And I told you, don't call me milady."

"If you insist." Was his only reply. He was shocked to find that the better part of the afternoon had passed by and it was nearing half after three. Almost as though the tiny royal was reading his mind, he began stirring in his bassinet.

... Dinner ...

It wasn't much later the Emma followed David through the door. She hugged her mother and brother, oblivious to the surprise on Mary-Margaret's face. It was still a slow transition in her mind from an aloof and emotionally distant daughter to one that hugged her every time they saw each other. Making her way around the room Emma ruffled Henry's hair before stopping in front of Killian. His eyes met hers with a small smile on his face. He was not expecting her to pull him to his feet, kiss him on the mouth and whisper 'I missed you' in his ear.

"I..." Was all he could get out before she turned back to Mary-Margaret and started asking about Neal. Maybe one day he would understand why he was given such attention, especially in the presence of her parents, but for now he decided to just relish in the fact that she was his.

David dug into the stew first. "This is delicious!" He beamed at Mary-Margaret.

She nodded to Killian. "All him. I simply supervised."

"Really, man. I'm impressed. This is good stew!" David nodded at him. Soon everyone had dug into the stew, singing their praises and causing a red blush to creep up Killian's throat.

"Would you like to come back next week for another lesson? I think I can find more recipes to show you." Snow was positively beaming.

"I would." Killian replied.

Emma nudged him. "I told you you'd be able to cook. Guess you better start thinking of what you want since you won the bet."

...late that night...

Killian tapped softly on Emma's door frame. She was dressed in those plaid pajamas again, halfheartedly flipping through a magazine.

"I believe I know what I would like for winning the bet, love." His voice was low and he couldn't deny the smirk from spreading on his face at her reaction. He could see she had assumed it would be something sexual and instead of her usual eye roll or attempts to change the discussion, she just appeared interested, excited even. _This open book stuff comes in handy. _

"What would you like?" She asked softly grinning at him. He could clearly see what she was thinking about. It almost knocked him off guard but he couldn't resist playing with her a bit.

"To occupy your bedchamber for the evening, love." The smirk returned as he slowly lowered his eyes from her face down her body.

She was still grinning. "Wow pirate, you must think very highly of your cooking skills if _that _is what you choose for your winnings. Come on then." She patted the bed next to her.

He was completely shocked she was still going along with this. Apparently his Swan didn't possesses as much patience as he originally thought. Or perhaps he was just that devilishly random. _Yes, it must be the second one. _

He shrugged. "You tasted the stew." He sauntered over to the bed, her eyes glued to his body as he walked, he removed his shirt and sat down. Invading her space in his particular fashion, he took the magazine from her lap, and leaned over to place it on her nightstand, brushing his chest along her body. He heard her sharp intake of breath as he flicked off the light.

Pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek, he retreated to his side of the bed, lying on his back.

"Goodnight Swan." He could almost feel the confusion and aggravation rolling off her body and it took everything in him not to laugh.

"Oh-night, _Hook." _She laid down next to him, so close they were almost touching and didn't utter another word.

_Perhaps this was not the most well thought out plan..._ Killian thought before drifting off to sleep.

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I'm running out of story ideas, so share with me anything you'd like to see/read.

Also, do I need to increase the rating to M? I know I'm toeing the line of T for this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13: little moments

**I intended for this to be nothing but short thoughts (drabbles, I guess) that didn't really fit in elsewhere and were all pure fluff. But then Hook showed up. ;)**

**Thank you again and again and again for the reviews, follows and favorites! **

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**Little Moments**

The rich and velvety smell of chocolate invades her senses slowly stirring her body awake. The sweet smell of blueberries remind her of summer.

Through her closed eyes she can tell by the weak sunlight filtering through her blinds it's still early in the morning. She needed to go into the station really early today.

Slowly peeking one eye open she finds the source of the smell, a cup of hot cocoa and a muffin from Granny's sitting on her nightstand with a scrap of paper.

It reads, "A beautiful princess needs sustenance to get through a long day at work. Don't work too hard. Yours truly, Killian" in his ancient penmanship.

She can't stop the grin from creeping across her face.

* * *

"Mom!" Henry's cry is frantic, waking Emma from a deep sleep. She stumbles into the hallway heading toward his room, only to find he has beaten her there. She strains her ears to hear their conversation.

"Aye, lad it was just a terrible dream. I swear on my life I'll never let anything bad happen to you." His voice is low, soothing.

Another step toward Henry's room and she can see in. Her heart catches in her throat. Henry is clinging to him, shaking. Killian is rubbing his back, now whispering so low she can't make out the words.

The old Emma would feel betrayed, threatened that her son went to anyone but even after only being in his life for such a short time. This new Emma feels nothing of the sort. Only a jumble of happy emotions run through her; that he had no second thoughts about going to comfort her son, that her son trusts him.

* * *

Emma is straightening up the dining room when she notices the curio cabinet looks fuller than before. Stepping closer, she finds there are a few new pictures inside. One of her and Henry playing a video game. A picture of the ocean from her front door. Killian with his head thrown back in laughter. One where Killian is playfully kissing her on the nose.

She can't wait for the entire house to be full of photos. She can't help but feel a strong sense of belonging every time she walks into this room.

* * *

It had been an extremely trying day at the station. Someone kept prank calling all of the dwarves, who then called to report it to Emma, meaning her whole morning had been spent on the phone.

David had called saying he would be in late, Neal was running a slight temperature and he wanted to accompany Mary-Margaret to the doctor. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was almost two and she hadn't eaten lunch.

She picked up the phone, ready to call Ruby and call in a burger and fries, when the door to the station opens and a she can smell the wonderful aroma of greasy food.

"I just spoke with David. Neal is fine, but he's going to stay home today. I figured you hadn't ate anything yet." Killian dropped the bag of food on her desk and giving her a quick kiss. "I know you are overwhelmed here so I won't stay. Just don't work too late love, I'll miss you."

And with that, he sauntered out of the room, the bag of food the only proof that the whole event even happened.

Despite his request, Emma didn't leave the station until almost eight. Exhausted, she hauled herself out of the bug and into the house, where Henry promptly handed her a glass of wine and Killian ushered her to the chair. Removing her shoes, he proceeded with another amazing foot massage that almost put Emma to sleep.

* * *

Emma came home to find a very large bouquet of flowers on the dining room table. Roses, lilies, sunflowers and your typical stock flowers, all brightly colored. It was terrible but her first thought was that someone had died. _No wait, they don't use bright colors for that. _

"Where did these come from?" She asked Killian.

"I believe there is a card." He replied.

Carefully slipping the card from the envelope, she read, _I saw these in the shop window and they reminded me of your smile. -Killian_

"You got me flowers for no reason?" She couldn't keep the awe out of her voice.

"No, love. Did you not read the card? They reminded me of you." Killian looked at her questioningly. Maybe it had been another long day at the station.

"But it's not a holiday or my birthday or anything, it's just Thursday."

"Are flowers forbidden in this realm on Thursdays?" He asked. What a silly notion.

"No, of course not. I just don't understand why you bought me flowers for no real reason."

He rolled his eyes. When was she ever going to realize that he didn't need a reason to _spoil_ her as she called it. He simply did these things for her because he wanted to, because he liked her reactions, because it made him happy to do so. "Just say thank you, Swan."

"Thank you Swan" she quipped.

* * *

She was beginning to wonder if getting him a phone was a bad idea. He was fascinated with FaceTime, constantly wanting to see her while she was at work. When she ignored that a barrage of text messages came through. Nothing was funnier though, than listening to him ask Siri questions.

At least it saved her the trouble of explaining some modern amenities to the pirate.

Chirp. Another text. She was going to put a parental lock on his phone as soon as she got home.

_K: What does YOLO mean? _

Emma snorted before responding. _It's something kids say. It stands for You Only Live Once. Kind of like carpe diem. _

_K: TTYL? BRB?_

Wasn't there a website she could direct him to for these abbreviations? Nevermind, she was not ready to unleash the pirate on the internet. Why wasn't he asking Siri?

_E: why aren't you asking Siri?_

_K: Henry told me I had a 100 question a day limit. _Henry was a genius! She needed to thank him sharing for that bit of false information with Killianthe second she got home.

_E: you've asked 100 questions already?! It's barely 9:30 am!_

_K: I resent the tone I believe you are using. I've merely asked 62 questions. I just don't sent to run out. Now, what is TTYL and BRB? _

Emma could not stop laughing. _TTYL = Talk to you later. BRB = be right back. _

_K: ily? _

_E: I love you. _

_K: Why, Swan how forward of you to finally admit your feelings. However I do find it in bad form to use these communication devices to express what is such a strong sentiment of emotion. Shouldn't these be words spoken in person?_

Emma's whole face flamed red, even though she was alone at the station. She was confident he knew exactly what 'ily' stood for and just wanted to goad her. Regardless of whether she did or didn't (she did) love him, she was not about to be the one to say it first and especially not over a text message.

_E: why, Hook how forward of you to make assumptions. I was answering your last question. ily stands for I love you. Now stop texting me, I have a lot of work to do. _

_K: as you wish, princess._

Damn him. Just damn him. She needed to have Henry add _The Princess Bride _into their movie rotation. Emma put her phone on silent and stuck it under the tallest pile of paperwork on her desk and forced all of her attention to the file she was currently working on.

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**these are fun to write. Any objections if I did more later on?**


	14. Chapter 14: Killian's Thoughts

**Hello, lovely readers! I had a few review suggesting I should give Killian's side of what the world must be like. I wrote this quickly while at the beach, so hopefully it's not terrible. **

**I lost track of which reviews I had responded to, some just stopped responding for a bit. However, I am reading them all and I absolutely love to see that I have new reviews or followers. It makes me all giddy inside. **

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**Killian's** **Thoughts on the Modern World**

Killian had been in the habit of keeping a daily log of his time on the seas and he found that even while on land, he couldn't quite break the habit.

Life in this realm is quite interesting. For its claims to be the Land Without Magic, there are many...advancements that could easily be mistaken for magic. Emma likes to tell me that it is all technology but even that does not seem a plausible explanation for everything.

Indoor plumbing he appreciated the most. The shower was the most amazing invention of them all. He preferred to call it an enclosed personal waterfall. 'Shower' simply did not convey the wonder of this modern marvel. Adjustable temperature, water pressure options, it was a small slice of heaven that these people just did not appreciate fully.

He hadn't known about the water pressure options until Emma asked him if he had 'played with the shower head'. At first he thought it was a euphemism of the sexual variety, but then she dragged him into the bathroom and turned on the water and began twisting a knob near the top of the shower head. His eyes lit up in amazement as the water pressure changed from a slow, gentle waterfall to one with more pressure, a fine mist to a concentrated jet. Don't play with it too much, she told him and threatened to chop off his other hand if he used all the hot water.

He wasn't so fond of the washer and dryer however. It did not seem safe to place ones garments in a machine that soaked them in water and twisted them around. And the accompanying machine that tossed garments around while blasting them hot air? Yeah, that wasn't magical at all. Emma had showed him that both machines came with different settings depending on what you were washing but it made no sense to him. While they were faster, he still preferred to use a board and bucket method, which proved to be quite difficult to find here. He had spent a decent chunk of money on these new items and he had no interest in letting those machines anywhere near them.

The microwave was one invention he had quickly mastered, only because it provided that delicious concoction they called popcorn and apparently Emma and Henry could not watch a movie without it. Henry told him it also heated meals and even cooked some things but Killian didn't understand why one wouldn't use the stove or oven instead? Those he adapted to the most quickly, seeing as it still used fire and if you can master cooking with fire on a ship, you can cook with fire anywhere.

The television, although he still preferred to call it a magical picture box, was quite the useful invention. While Emma and her lad used it to watch those movies they loved so much, he was most fascinated by a program called The News which came on multiple times a day and provided town information as well as the weather. A woman had a map of their town and temperatures appeared on it, then she was magically able to switch to a statewide map as well as one of the whole country. He still had a bit to learn geographically about this realm, but he knew a few trips to the library should resolve that issue. More impressed than being able to provide the temperature of the current day and days in advance, was that these weather people had the ability to tell him exact time of high and low tide. The first time he heard that he was so fascinated and unconvinced this was possible he immediately strode to the docks to see just how accurate these people on the magical picture box were.

Although Emma teased him relentlessly about it, he was convinced these weather people would make a mistake and went to the docks or shore as frequently as possible to confirm high tide and low tide happened at the time stated. Three weeks in and they hadn't been wrong yet, but Killian wasn't convinced. They'd slip up eventually.

* * *

I think Killian will have another cooking lesson with MM soon and I'm thinking about some bonding between Killian and David. Plus I think Emma and Killian are due for some more fluff soon, right?


	15. Chapter 15

**I have all these ideas for chapters in my head, but then I sit down to write and can't think of a thing. Special thanks goes out to ****_RubySlippers451_**** who provided me with the perfect prompt at the perfect time. I honestly had just typed "I don't know, just out." and was thinking of what type of date Emma and Killian could go on, when I decided to go through my reviews for inspiration and there it was a new review, suggesting they go out for ice cream. **

**I totally intended for this to be fluff, but apparently the ice cream store employee had other ideas! **

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**Ice Cream**

"Come on, let's go out tonight." Emma tugged on his hand. Henry was spending a few nights with Regina and she had spent the better part of the afternoon just laying around watching tv while Killian read a book.

Yesterday Henry went to the library to pick out a few books for his class project and Killian had jumped at the chance to accompany him. Emma wasn't expecting him to be so interested in reading but he had returned with arms full of books and such a childish gleeful grin on his face that made Emma's heart melt.

His eyes slowly raised from the book. "Where do you want to go love? There isn't exactly an abundance of entertainment in his town."

"I don't know, just out. I'm getting cabin fever sitting here." Emma replied.

"Cabin fever?" He asked, perplexed.

"When you're stuck in the house for too long. I know! Let's go get ice cream." Emma's face lit up.

"Ice cream? Love, it's cold outside." Killian did not understand the affection Emma and her lad had with this cold treat during cold weather. He had avoided trying it, saying he would save the experience for warmer climates.

"But they just opened that new ice cream store and you get free samples. Please?" Emma asked.

She looked so happy, so carefree that he couldn't deny her if he tried. "Let's go." He returned her smile.

...

They stood in front of the ice cream counter, eyes wide with awe. There were at least thirty different flavor of ice cream, twenty different toppings and a large variety of cones to choose from. That was just the basics, a menu of sundaes and milkshakes adorned one half of the wall. The other side of the wall was full of premade combinations of flavors and toppings.

Vanilla bean to rocky road, cotton candy to something called Storybrooke Special, pistachio, mint, peach basil, strawberry rhubarb, cinnamon toast, salted caramel, peanut butter and jelly, rum pecan, whiskey bacon, wasabi pea, green tea and even S'mores. The store carried everything from your usual classic flavors to a crazy assortment of ice creams even Emma and Henry couldn't dream up in their wildest imaginations.

The wall informed her that mixing cinnamon toast with peanut butter and jelly resulted in an ice cream eerily similar to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Also that somehow salted caramel and whiskey bacon were in the top five best combinations. It reminded Emma of jelly beans and reading the back of the package to create crazy combinations.

The teenager behind the counter eyed up Killian before leaning forward, revealing adolescent cleavage and whispering "what would you like to try?" with a smile so salacious it rivaled Killian's when he was at his cockiest.

Emma's eyebrows shot up so high they nearly jumped off her forehead. What did this kid think she was doing flirting with a pirate? He was dangerous! He was old enough to be her father! And he was certainly not available!

Okay, maybe he wasn't exactly dangerous anymore and if you counted the years in Neverland, he was more than old enough to be Emma's great-great-great grandfather but that was besides the point! He was too old for this-this teeny bopping _child_ and Emma was not amused.

Lacing her fingers through his, she asked "Do you know which flavor you want, honey?"

Killian eyebrow quirked at her use of endearment. While he called her love and darling and sweetheart all of the time, the sentiment was not returned. She mainly called him Killian, though occasionally she called him Hook or Pirate, but he believed that was when he was getting on her nerves. "I believe I wish to try the salted caramel. Something about the salty and sweet combination is intriguing to me."

"I bet you taste salty and sweet" the teenager behind the counter mumbled, continuing to run her eyes up and down Killian, who appeared to be oblivious as he was looking down at the flavors in the case in front of him.

"Excuse me?" Emma dropped his hand and took a step forward toward the counter.

With that look only teenagers can possess, the girl lifted her eyes to Emma's. "I said I bet he'll like the salty and sweet."

Every inch of Emma's body wanted to call her out on the lie but some small part of her was holding back, maintaining every ounce of adult dignity she possessed. Emma had no idea why she was reacting this way to this teenager. Killian clearly wanted nothing to do with her and if she was honest with herself, this teenage girl would probably be the first of many women trying to get his attention. I mean, just look at him. Modern clothing did nothing to hide his lean body and Emma was fairly certain no one else in the world could pull off the disheveled, messy hair look or the permanent weeks worth of scruff like he did. Plus, _those eyes. _

Shaking her head slightly Emma snapped out of her mental assessment of him. She made sure to take the sample spoon from the teenager and hand it to him herself.

His eyes lit up as he tasted it. "This is bloody marvelous! I see why you quite enjoy this treat, Swan. May I have it on a cone? Those look delicious as well."

Turning back to the teenager Emma said "single scoop of salted caramel on a sugar cone and a single scoop of the Storybrooke Special on a sugar cone too. Please."

The Storybrooke Special flavor had intrigued her the most. Vanilla bean with caramel swirls, brownie pieces and pretzel bits was the description. Emma had no idea why that combination was named aptly but it was worth a try.

After the teenager handed her their cones she continued to stare at Killian, who finally acknowledged her presence. "While I am devilishly handsome, child, I am with the beautiful woman here and perhaps your affections would be better returned with someone of your own age."

Emma couldn't help but throw a smirk at the girl before placing the money on the counter and walking out after Killian.

"Love, were you jealous of the child?" Killian couldn't help but laugh. It was so absurd. He loved Emma with all his heart and after all the time it had taken to be where they were right now, he would never jeopardize his life with her by showing interest in another woman. Not like that was even a possibility. His heart belonged to her, one hundred percent.

"What? No! I just-she-like you said, she's a child. She didn't need to be looking at you like that!" Emma exclaimed.

"Like what, love?" He pressed.

"She was undressing you with her eyes! It's completely inappropriate! I should be the-she shouldn't do that." Emma faltered, reaching into her pocket for her keys.

"You should...?" He turned abruptly, pressing her against her car.

He stared at her, waiting for a response before feeling something chilled on his fingers. Realizing the ice cream had somehow managed to melt even in these arctic conditions, he swirled the cone, licking the drips from his fingers.

Emma's eyes followed his tongue and felt her heart rate increase. Could the man do anything without being so damn attractive? Emma wasn't sure why she changed her mind on that last sentence. The chemistry between them was undeniable and they were in a relationship of some sort, she should be able to tell him she should be the only one looking at him like that. His tongue swirled around the cone again. _Damn that man. _Fixing him with a glare she responded "I should be the one undressing you with my eyes not some lovesick teenager."

And there it was, the smirk she tried to hate. "You don't have to do it with your eyes, love. I'm completely yours. Although, if you couldn't handle another woman appreciating my good looks, I'm not sure you could handle me. I _am _devilishly handsome, more so when undressed."

"_Child._ She was not a woman. _She _wouldn't know what to do with you." Emma bit out. He was goading her and she knew it.

"Are you saying you would?" He continued to smirk at her.

"Obviously." She deadpanned, glaring at him for a moment before returning to her ice cream. This time it was him who watched her movements, tongue swirling around the cold concoction, teeth nibbling off the top of the sugar cone.

In over three hundred years he had seen a lot of things, women flirting and throwing themselves at him, trying to entice him with various states of undress or innuendos as clever as his own, but nothing was more arousing than his own gorgeous Swan jealous of a child he didn't offer a second glance to. On second thought, the way she was eating that ice cream cone was rather distracting.

He returned to his own cone, keeping her pressed against the car. She refused to look back up at him, instead focusing on the ice cream. When she had about two bites of the cone left, his patience ran out. Tossing his cone to the sidewalk, his hand darted behind her head, tilting it up as his lips crashed into hers knocking her ice cream from her hand. He kissed her hard but passionately, reveling in the fact that her mouth could be so cold and hot at the same time.

Emma couldn't help the small moan that escaped her lips. "You haven't kissed me like that since I was on-we were on your ship."

"Like that, did you?" He growled in her ear, nipping at her earlobe. "I've had centuries to perfect my ah-_technique." _He pushed forward grinding his hips into hers and Emma knew there was no going back from this. Not tonight, not ever. The time for taking it slow had apparently run out.

"It's bad form to talk about your previous conquests, _Captain." _

"I'm sure you'll find that won't be the only name you're calling me tonight. Now are we going home so I can show you just how much you can't handle it, or shall we give the town residents a free show?" Challenge was written all over his face and the one thing Emma knew was she couldn't back down from a challenge from him.

Pushing him away from her, she walked around to the drivers side of the car. "Believe me, you're going to be the one who can't handle it."

The short car ride back to the house was full of tension. Neither spoke, not wanting to break the spell they had created.

* * *

**You wanna know what happens when they get back to the house right? I'm not the best at writing smut, but I can try. **

**(And some more thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites. I check in at least once a day to see if there is anything new and I'm always pleasantly surprised. You're all really the best!)**


	16. Chapter 16: at home

**Much awaited, I assume? ;) **

* * *

He had been sleeping, just sleeping, in her bedroom for almost a week now but he still only thought of it as her room. It had her personal touches, a bottle of perfume on the dresser, a book on the nightstand, a sweater haphazardly thrown over the chair in the sitting area. The room smelled uniquely of her, a combination of her perfume, the vanilla scent of her skin and something he was never quite able to place.

He hesitated in the doorway to her bedroom. She had taken the steps upstairs two at a time, throwing her jacket toward the direction of the chair, pulling off her gloves and unwinding the scarf from around her neck.

"Aren't you coming in?" Emma asked, sitting on the bed to pull off her boots.

"Just making sure it's still what you wanted, love." He said carefully still standing in the doorway.

"I know I said I wanted to take things slow, but it's been slow enough. Henry reminded me not too long ago that in this town the quiet and calm times are few and that I shouldn't wait too long for anything." Emma said.

"I don't believe this is what your lad had in mind." Killian couldn't help but grin.

She crossed the room, eyes locked on his. The tension between them grew, creating a static like feeling to the air. She stopped inches from him, "You're wearing too many clothes." Her hands went to his shoulders, pushing the jacket down his arms. Tilting her head, she leaned in and kissed him. It was slow and full of passion, full of wanting and longing. Emma channeled every bit of her desire for him, her desire to finally move forward, with him, into the kiss.

He took control of the kiss, tilting her head for better access but remaining as gentle as ever. His hand, usually tangled in her hair, joined his hook in a loose hold around her waist. The desire was there, she felt it, but she knew he was holding something back. She tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth, usually a sure way to elicite a reaction from him. He just grinned at her and allowed her to pull him backward until the back of her knees touched the bed.

She sat down, bringing him with her. He hovered above her, bracing himself on one arm. One shaking arm she noticed. "Are you okay?" Her voice was soft.

"Aye..." His voice was almost a whisper and he wasn't quite meeting her eyes.

A sudden thought dawned on Emma. How long had it been since he'd... "Are you...nervous?" She asked carefully.

The pink flush on his cheeks answered her question. "Love, I want you more than anything and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of this, dreamt of this hundreds of times, but I'm not sure I could ever be prepared for it to actually happen." It wounded him to admit this to her. He hadn't been this nervous, this anxious in centuries. The feeling was foreign to him and he didn't like it.

He was nervous to be with _her_. Emma realized the salacious grins, the innuendos, while truthful were all just a front, an image created by the character of Captain Hook. It wasn't until that moment that Emma fully realized how different Hook and Killian could be. Her heart clenched at his confession. If possible she fell a bit more in love with him because of it. Because he didn't try to lie or hide it from her, because he was always so open and honest with her, because he still didn't fully believe she had chosen him, because he never pushed her and allowed everything to be on her terms.

She looked up at him with such a tenderness in her eyes he felt the heat creep into his cheeks again. She probably thought he was useless, a bloody pathetic excuse of a man. Hook would never admit to being nervous of anything. The man was pure cocky confidence, something he had earned over the years of being the best in every situation. He wouldn't be surprised if she laughed at him now, mood completely ruined and was never able to look at him the same. That was what he deserved for being so emotional. So caught up in his own torment, he jumped slightly when he felt her hands cradling each side of his face. She pressed soft kisses on his cheeks and lips, nudging her nose against his and fluttering her eyelashes against his cheeks.

"I'm not very good at this." She whispered, her lips ghosting over his, keeping her eyes closed. "I don't do relationships or at least I didn't for a very long time. Neal ruined that for me; you know the story. I never wanted to get close to anyone again, let anyone in, give them the chance to hurt me. It was easier to just be alone, keep my distance and run if anything got too serious.

"There is a part of me that probably will never get over being abandoned as a baby. A part of me that will always feel unwanted. A part of me that will always believe I'll end up alone, that I don't deserve the family, the son that I have. A part of me that doesn't believe I deserve a happy ending.

"But don't you get it, you silly pirate?" She laughed softly, quickly kissing him again. "It's not like that with you. You changed everything. You reduced all of my walls to heaps of rubble. You tell me I'm an open book and have yet to prove me wrong when you read me as one. You've always been there, even when I was terrible to you, you still stayed. You believe in me, no matter what. Your belief in me is scary actually, like you know things I don't. For as much as I'm supposed to be the damn Savior, you saved me. Saved me from a fake life of lies, saved me from leaving the only place I'll ever really be able to call home. You saved me from _me_. You proved that not everyone leaves and maybe, just maybe I deserve some bit of happiness.

"There's a part of me that's terrified to tell you all this. It's letting you in. It's giving you ammunition to hurt me. But there's this little voice in my head, that sounds sounds an awful lot like you actually, that tells me it's going to be okay. That I can be honest with you, that it is okay to trust you. That you aren't going to hurt me. To just believe in you, in us.

"I'm nervous about this too. I don't want it to change anything; I don't think it will, not with everything we've even though, but sex does change a relationship, even in a small way. I'm rambling and probably not even making sense anymore. I just need you to know, to believe that I did choose you. There really wasn't even any competition, I chose you forever ago, I was just too stupid to admit it to myself. Like you said, there wasn't any trickery and it's because I want you. Because of everything you've done for me, for my family."

She pulled back slightly, resting her forehead against his and finally opened her eyes. She stared into the deep, brilliant blue of his eyes for a moment, likening them to the sea. She stared, watching all of his emotions swirling just beneath the surface. He watched her swallow hard and take a deep breath.

"I...I love you. _I love you, Killian_."

He was pretty sure he stopped breathing. He heard her but everything sounded muffled and so far away, like he was underwater. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Then all he could hear was how loudly his heart was pounding. Or was it hers? Perhaps it was both.

"And maybe you love me and wanna say it back now? Because that was a whole lot of confessing and not very like me-" Her voice was hesitant.

That was all it took to break him out of his stupor. "Gods, yes Emma. I love you. You bloody marvelous, brave, beautiful, amazing woman. Of course I love you." He peppered her face with kisses, tickling her with his scruff. "I believe you said something earlier about too many clothes? I think we are still a tad overdressed." She grinned at him and they made quick work of removing their remaining garments.

It was nothing like what she expected it to be. In her head she had always assumed she would have sex with Captain Hook, not make love with Killian Jones. He was every bit as skilled and attentive as she figured he would be. Their bodies fit together perfectly, which after everything, didn't come as much of a surprise to her. It was gentle, sweet and with so much emotion it brought tears to her eyes more than once. She had never felt so loved, so desired, so cherished, so _sated_. She was never much for cuddling but when he wrapped his arm around her, Emma didn't hesitate to curl up against him.

"Have I told you recently that you are amazing Emma? That was amazing." She laughed softly until she felt his whole body stiffen. Raising her eyes to his, she saw a look of terror on his face. "I didn't...we didn't...you could be with child." He stuttered.

Emma smiled at him and shook her head. She leaned over him to open her nightstand and pulled out a small packet of pills. "Birth control. I'm sure you'll appreciate this modern convenience." At his perplexed expression, she contined. "I take one of these every night and it stops me from getting pregnant. I won't even begin to explain it to you because it's pretty confusing. But as long as I take every pill on time, it's like 98-99% effective. There are diseases and stuff that this doesn't protect so we were kinda stupid on that part. I have the tests done to check every year, it's a routine thing here. I'm clean. We'll just have to make you an appointment with Dr. Whale. It probably wouldn't hurt to do a whole physical and blood work since you've never had it done before. I'll call and get you an appointment tomorrow."

He nodded slowly. A pill, equivalent in size to a grain of rice that prevented pregnancy? And he was supposed to believe there was no magic in this land? Hardly.

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**I'm sorry if you were expecting smut and were disappointed with the fluff. I had intended for Emma to call Killian out on being nervous all along, but I had absolutely no plans for Emma's heartfelt confessions and her to be the first to say 'I love you'. It felt wrong to go from that to smut, so I opted to keep it fluffy. Knowing these two, some smut will happen eventually. **


	17. Chapter 17

*******WARNING: THIS CHAPTER RATED "M" FOR ADULT THEMES/SEX/SMUT******

**IF THAT'S NOT YOUR THING, PLEASE SKIP OVER THIS CHAPTER.**

**Hi lovelies, sorry for the incredibly long delay on getting another chapter up. Work has been insane lately and I've basically fallen right asleep the second I get home. I had a few half typed chapters floating around and decided to finish this one, even though smut-writing really isn't my thing. I figured it was worth a try for the delay in a new chapter. **

****2nd time uploading this - I did it from the ipad first and the formatting was wonky. Sorry about that!****

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For being the same person, there were many differences between Captain Hook and Killian Jones. Hook was the one full of innuendos, saucy grins and lewd looks that left Emma feel as though she was standing in front of him naked. Hook was cockier, confident to a fault and the smug bastard she kissed in Neverland. Killian, on the other hand, had the ability to shake Emma to the core with a tender smile and to express how strongly he felt for her even with a simple kiss on the cheek.

There were times the two personas overlapped, she remembered a few endearing looks from Hook in Neverland. There were times you could see Killian bite his tongue not to blurt out a Hook-worthy innuendo.

Since their return from the Enchanted Forest and subsequent make out session in front of Granny's, it seemed the Killian Jones side of him was here to stay. The glimpses of Hook became fewer and far between, in a very short period of time. Emma loved both sides of him. The dangerous pirate who had no qualms fighting to the death. The man who jumped through a time portal after her and was always there to reassure her every time her faith faltered.

However, she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't miss the flirty, innuendo-laden pirate, especially after kissing the past version of him in the time portal. They had passed taking their relationship slowly and while Emma secretly loved that he was nervous and gentle throughout it all, but there was just something so hot about the pirate ravishing her mouth that she couldn't stop thinking about it.

He was spending the morning at the docks with Leroy, talking about a job for him there.

Emma's thoughts wandered back to their time spent in the Enchanted Forest, especially her time with Hook. They hadn't spoken of it at all, but Emma knew Killian was curious to know what happened after he left the bar.

Things had progressed a little faster than Emma expected, but more unexpected was how easily she found herself flirting with the captain, running her fingers over his hook, toying with the buttons on his vest. She knew he found her attractive, but his reactions, the pure lust in his eyes emboldened her. He didn't know the hurtful things she had said to Killian, he didn't know their past from Neverland. He simply wanted whatever they referred to as a one night stand in this realm and that was definitely within Emma's comfort zone. Aside from Neal and Walsh, which she tried not to remember, her experiences with men remained of the bar pick up, gone before morning variety. Her type had always been the bad-boy and the scrumptious specimen of eye candy in front of her met all of the requirements.

After he carried his rum out the door, his hooked arm around her waist, it wasn't even a full minute of walking before she found herself pressed up against the wall of some building and Hook's lips pressing hot kisses down her neck. "Hey" she tugged on his hair trying to stop him.

A muffled "hmmmm" was his only reply as his lips moved from her collarbone down her chest to the swell of her breasts. She had undone the corset a bit too much in trying to get his attention and she knew any sudden movements could leave her toppling out of it. He played this to his advantage, pulling on the fabric with his teeth until his tongue flicked across her nipple.

Emma gasped and later told herself it was an involuntary reaction to arch her back. He alternated between gently sucking and flicking his tongue. His good hand had found her other breast, his calloused thumb rubbing circles over the other nipple. Emma knew she needed to stop him but had a hard time finding the words while he was doing such wonderful things to her body. He rolled his hips up into hers, leaving nothing to the imagination of just how much he wanted her.

Suppressing a moan Emma had managed to ask him to stop again asking if he would much prefer the comfort of the captains quarters to the wall where they both stood. He finally pulled back, eyes so filled with lust that Emma needed to force herself to focus on Killian not to find the nearest alleyway with his past self. "Hmm, I suppose we should not give the townspeople a show. I'll have you screaming my name loud enough for them to hear it, but for tonight you are for my eyes only." The cocky smile on his face, the look of pure unadulterated lust, his stance that she could only describe as a pirate swagger.

Emma shook her head pulling herself out of the memories. She had blocked that from her mind, feeling guilty toward Killian that she couldn't keep his former self interested enough without getting physical. However allowing herself to dredge upthose memories had left her pretty turned on and slightly desperate to know just how much of Captain Hook was still in there hiding beneath Killian Jones. Finding him alone at the docks, Emma didn't bother to hesitate starting what would likely be an odd conversation.

"You haven't been the same lately" she accused.

Killian was baffled. He thought things were going pretty well between them. She seemed very happy, almost giddy even, which was unheard of for the savior. "I haven't?" He asked confused.

This was going to be awkward Emma realized. "I was thinking about our journey to the past and you know, seeing the past you and then you now, there's such a huge difference."

Still confused, he responded "I was hell bent on revenge back then, of course I wasn't the same as I am now. I'm much happier now Emma, with you, in this town. With this life."

"No, I know, it's not just that. Even a few weeks ago you were more, I don't know...piratey." She ducked her head trying to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks from him.

"Piratey?" He laughed, "what does that even mean?"

"I don't know. There's just such a difference between the past Hook from the Enchanted Forest and you now. I mean, I know it's been a lot of time but he was different with me. In the tavern, on his ship..." Emma trailed off. She loved this man, she had sex with this man, but she couldn't formulate the words to tell him she wanted to see the rough, take as you please, brash Captain Hook side of him. Emma was usually pretty good at articulating what she wanted but there was something about him, both side of him, that left her unable to do so.

He regarded her carefully, trying to place exactly what she meant. He had blamed the evening on the rum, when he awoke the next morning with a black eye but he also hazily remembered a gorgeous blonde flirting with him in the tavern. He had chalked it up to a dream at the time. He didn't remember the particulars of the evening but thought back on watching his past self kiss Emma and her reactions, even while trying to get them both of out there. It finally clicked and he thought he figured out what she was trying to say.

He closes the distance between them. "Love, are you trying to tell me you liked when I forced my lips on yours? When I tell you what I'm thinking? When my hand is pulling your hair to bring you closer to me?" He can't help but grin at the thought.

Cheeks tinged pink Emma nods at him. "I just like both sides of you, I guess."

"As you wish, milady. I shall be both." His smile is genuine.

"I've really got to show you that movie sometime. You really need to get the reference." Emma muttered more to herself than him.

~ ~ a few hours later ~ ~

There's a rough knock at her door. Curious Emma opened the door slightly to peek her head out, only to have the door pushed fully open. Fully clad in his usual leather attire, but this time with the red vest, he stalked in, quickly closed the door and pushed her somewhat roughly against it before capturing her mouth with his.

She managed a startled "oh" which only seems to fuel him more, taking advantage of her parted lips, sweeping his tongue into her mouth and pressing his hips meaningfully into hers. That went on until they were both dizzy from lack of breath and she finally was able to push him back slightly, hand on his chest. Gasping, she just stared at him not sure where to go from there. Thank God Henry is at Regina's was her only coherent thought.

"Hi, princess. I thought you wanted to be kissed by a pirate." Hook is most definitely back, with the way he is looking at her.

Before she could respond or react, she found her arms around his neck being carried bridal-style up the steps. He kicked open the bedroom door and Emma felt herself being dropped,not too gracefully, on the bed. Emma managed to prop herself up on her elbows just in time to watch him slowly make his way up her body, eyes darkened and blazing with desire. He's stepped back a few feet from the bed to look at her.

"So beautiful" he growled, eyes continuing to to rove over her body, undressing her with his eyes. "But so much prettier when I make you mine." His voice was low and Emma couldnt help feeling chills just from the words coming out of his mouth.

"Take off your top and pants then lie back like that on the bed." He demanded, fixing her with an intense stare.

Emma pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it across the room. Unbuttoning her jeans, she shimmied them down her leg before they followed suit next to the shirt. He always made her feel attractive but the way he was staring at her now had Emma forcing herself not to writher around.

"Do you want my mouth on yours?"

Emma nodded unsure of her voice.

"Answer me. I expect you to be a willing and vocal participant." His eyes twinkled at the emphasis. He had closed the space between them, standing right next to the bed.

"Yy-yes."

"Then come get it." He challenged her, tapping his finger on his bottom lip like he had in Neverland. He had no idea how much that simple gesture turned Emma on. She didn't even know why, it was hardly sexual compared to everything else he could have done but that stupid tap of his lips and cocky smirk on his face left her wet and wanting him.

She kneeled on the bed, making herself eye level with him and grabbed the collar of his coat, as she had in Neverland, crashing her lips into his. Deepening the kiss, she let go of the collar, pushing the jacket off his shoulders and digging her nails into his shoulders. Her fingers went to the clasps of the vest, fumbling to get it off. Grasping at the shirt material at his waist, she broke the kiss only long enough to pull it over his head.

"So impatient." he muttered before pushing her back on the bed and leaning over her to continue the kiss. Killian nibbled and nipped his way down her neck stopping only to run his tongue along her collarbone causing her to shiver with pleasure. "Like that, do we? What else do you like?"

She didn't respond at first, expecting the question to be rhetorical. He bit down on her shoulder, getting her attention. "I asked you a question Princess."

Emma had many guys try to talk dirty to her and most were absolutely terrible at it, completely ruining the mood. Killian on the other hand could simply recite the alphabet and the combination of his breath on her ear and cadence of voice would leave her wriggling in pleasure.

"I like when you touch me. When you kiss me." Emma wasn't sure how specific he expected her to be.

He tugged down one cup of her bra, freeing her breast and blowing on it softly. The combination of cool air and his hot breath made her nipple harden. His lips closed over it, alternating between sucking and flicking his tongue evoking a moan from Emma. Her back arched up and he took advantage, slipping his good hand behind her and unclasping her bra. A whimper escaped her as he broke contact to remove the garment, but quickly returned his mouth to her, his good hand pinching and tugging on her other nipple.

"More" Emma moaned pressing her hips up to his, trying to create friction. His mouth switched to the other breast, giving it the same attention as he did the other. His hand trailed down her stomach and over her inner thigh causing her to jump. His touch was feather-light, fingers running up and down from her hipbone to mid-thigh slowly getting closer and closer to where she needed him. His fingers toyed with the seam of her panties on her inner thigh, just barely slipping underneath. She jerked her hips sideways causing his finger to press into her wet folds.

Using his hook, he tore the undergarment from her body.

"Hope you weren't particularly attracted to those." He trailed the curve of his hook up the inside of her leg and when crossing to go down her leg, accidentally across her center.

"Ohhhh" she gasped at the sudden cool contact, bucking her hips up. Her eyes flew open and she lifted her head almost as though to confirm what was touching her most sensitive parts. It gave him an idea.

"Fuck yourself on my hook, princess." He growled. "I want to watch you make yourself come."

Emma met his eyes questioningly. He looked at her pointedly. "Something you didn't understand in that request?" He asked almost cruely.

Emma shook her head and raised her hips up slightly against the curve of the cool metal that hadn't moved. The heat of her slick skin and chilled contrast of the metal made her shiver. He leaned forward, capturing one breast his is mouth, the other in his hand and returned to his previous ministrations, sucking and pinching. She was so aroused and his actions on her breasts left her needing more that she ignored the embarassment of pleasuring herself on him and began rolling her hips forward pressing into the cool steel. It wasn't long before she was close, her breath coming out in short pants, her legs quivering.

"Let go, Princess" he whispered biting down on her shoulder, hard enough to leave a bruise, and pressing his hook harder against her. It sent her over the edge with a strangled moan, hips high raising off the bed, her whole body shaking as the orgasm wracked through her.

He waited until she laid still again and her breathing returned to normal before moving his hook away and covering her body with his as he leaned down to kiss her. Her hands immediately went to his hair, tugging and pulling on the long locks. He demanded entrance to her mouth, his tongue darting in and claiming her mouth as his. He fueled so much desire and need into the kiss Emma was shocked to find herself aching again. She slipped a hand down his chest and began to undo the laces of his pants. He jerked his hips trying to move her hand away but only resulted in her running her fingers over the length of him over the leather. He groaned slightly, causing her to apply more pressure, gripping him as well as she could. He had other plans for the rest of their tryst but decided this detour could be worthwhile.

Breaking the kiss, he pulled back until he was standing next to the bed again. He undid the laces and pushed the pants down allowing him to spring free from the confinement. Emma's eyes widen at the sight of him and she involuntarily licked her lips. "Wanton woman." He chided. "Touch me."

Emma reached forward, weighing him in her hand before stroking him from base to tip, her thumb rubbing over the head. She repeated the action a few times before he broke in "I have my own hand love, why don't you do something I can't do on my own."

Emma glared at him as though she was accepting a challenge. She rolled to the side before pulling him back on the bed with her and settling on her knees between his legs. She took just the tip of him in her mouth, swirling her tongue and gently keeping him still with a finger on the base. She began sucking lightly, teasing him. His hips jerked upward. She swirled her tongue again. Tilting her head to the side she began to suck up and down the length of him, still not taking him into her mouth.

"Stop being a bloody tease!" He growled.

Emma arched an eyebrow at him before hollowing her cheeks and taking him in her mouth. Humming slightly, she was pleased when his hand went to her hair and his hips jerked upward. Continuing to pull him in and out of her mouth she ran her nails down his body from his chest to his thighs. His fingers tightened into her hair, hips unabashedly thrusting into her face, groans escaping his lips. Emma was not a huge fan of doing this usually, but the way he reacted to her, knowing she held the power over him made her even more eager to finish him off in her mouth. Trying to remember the last Cosmo magazine she read but failing, Emma alternated between rolling her tongue and trying to take him deeper in her mouth. She accidentally grazed him with her teeth and he groaned louder, hips bucking harder into her face. She did it again.

"Such a filthy princess aren't you? I'd wager you like this, having your mouth fucked. Don't you?" He voice was more ragged then before and she could tell he was close. Humming her response she increased the pace, using her hand for leverage and applying just a bit more pressure with her teeth. His hand pressed harder on the back of her head, holding her there as his hips thrust erratically into her mouth. A string of curses intermixed with her name flowed from his lips as he came. She slowed down but continued to suck until his hips stopped jerking and he laid spent on the bed.

It was her turn to smirk at him as she lifted her head and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She moved to sit beside him on the bed but he captured her wrist, tugging her up to him. "Done already? I've only just begun to have my fun with you."

Emma didn't have a chance to respond as he captured her bottom lip with his teeth and pulled her down to him. She was straddling his stomach as they kissed and began to wiggle lower slowly until he stopped her, sliding his hand around her thigh before running a finger between her legs.

"So wet for me Princess. I thought you may have had your fill on my hook but it appears sucking me off makes you wet too. You drove me crazy with that talented little mouth of yours, it's only fair I return the favor." He flipped them over and settled between her thighs, throwing one of her legs over his shoulder. "You'll need the other one to grind into the bed for purchase." He winked at her before his tongue darted out to taste her, lazily licking up and down her folds. She sighed softly, legs falling slightly more apart as he took his time, avoiding the area she needed him the most. His hook pressed into her hip, his good hand reached up to find her nipple and began tweaking it between his fingers. She moaned, raising her hips to his and was rewarded with the slightest flicker of his tongue over her clit. Emma moaned louder, rolling her hips again, fingers pulling on his hair tugging him to where she needed him the most. He chuckled, rolling his tongue over her clit once more before returning to licking everywhere but there. Emma was panting and dizzy with desire. He was driving her insane.

"Please." She whispered.

He pulled back slightly, removing his hand from her breast and sliding a finger inside her. He hips arched up again. "Please, what?" He teased.

"More." She moaned.

"More of this?" He asked sliding another finger inside her. She moaned louder. "Or this?" His tongue finally began to flicker over her clit as his fingers twisted and curled inside her.

"Oh god, yes that. Right there. Please don't stop." Emma moaned loudly, her foot grinding into the bed, both hands holding his head right where she needed him. He obliged, flicking and swirling his tongue, twisting and curling his fingers until Emma came with a loud scream of his name.

He looked up at her with hooded eyes, licking his lips. Her eyes widened when he sucked his fingers clean. After two orgasms with one barely a minute ago, Emma couldn't believe just watching his tongue dart over his lips and fingers left her aching for more. Judging by the look on his face, he knew what she was thinking because he positioned them so he was on his back and she was straddling his face.

"You taste so sweet princess, I can't stop myself." He said before burying his tongue into her folds, flickering over her clit, dragging out her next orgasm as long as he could.

Emma could barely slide off him, he entire body felt like Jello but she still wanted him. After catching her breath, she turned to face him, finding him semi-aroused. She immediately wrapped her hand around him in slow strokes.

"Sure you can handle it?" He smirked. "You look awfully satisfied."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I believe we've determined on more than one occasion, Captain, that you can't handle it. Show me what you've got."

His voice turned stern. "It is extremely bad form to sass off to a pirate, princess. Don't you know how dangerous I am? Get on all fours. You need to be punished." He demanded.

Emma regarded him for a moment before realizing he wasn't joking. She obliged, almost embarrassed at how much his words turned her on. Placing his hook on her hip, he slapped her ass hard with his good hand. Emma jumped but he held her in place and spent no time taking her from behind, alternating between shallow and deep thrusts. Leaning over he crooned in her ear "Youre too beautiful to continue punishing when you're holding that delicious ass out to me. So tight and so wet for me Emma, I get even harder just thinking about it."

Emma whimpered and pushed back against him. His words, his voice continued to make her want him more.

His fingers came around to find her clit, rubbing the already over-sensitized nub. Her hands went to her breasts, palming their weight before beginning to tug on her nipples as he increased the pace, thrusting harder. His movements became more erratic right as Emma felt the first waves of the of her fourth orgasm hit her. She moaned his name loudly as her inner walls clenched him tighter. Riding out the waves of her orgasm brought him to his own, calling her name as he thrust inside her one final time.

They laid there, a tangle of limbs and sweaty flesh before he nuzzled against her ear. "Are you okay love?" He asked sounding slightly concerned.

Emma grinned at him. "I've never been better. I love you Killian." Before closing her eyes and quickly drifting off to sleep.

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Hope this wasn't terrible.


	18. Chapter 18: Karaoke

**I really hate being so busy at work that I can't update as quickly as I'd like! I'm hoping to get a break soon. **

**I was thinking about how Colin finished filming The Dust Storm recently, and this just came to me. **

**It's all fluff, here. **

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"Emma" Ruby whispered, sliding down next to her in the booth. "Victor finally asked me out! We're going to The Rabbit Hole tonight, please say that you and Killian will come along?"

"You know I can hear you, right? I'm right across the booth, and you whisper kinda loudly." Killian whispered at Ruby from the other side of the booth. He wasn't sure why she was whispering, the diner was very full and loud. No one would be able to hear their conversation even if she spoken in normal tones.

She treated him with a glare. "Then why did you whisper back?"

"Thought I'd play along?" He grinned and Emma stifled a snort. The banter between the two of them was always very amusing.

"Why do you want us to come along?" Emma asked softly. She was not about to get in on the whispering or mock-whispering going on. "I thought you'd want to be alone?"

"If I want to be alone with him I can always suggest we leave. I just, I don't know, I haven't done this dating thing in a long time." Ruby replied.

Killian snorted. "And you think we're the two best people to accompany you on that?"

"Not that you'd understand" Ruby half-snarled, "but in case it doesn't go well I'd like to have a friend there." She looked pointedly at Emma, indicating she was not friends with him.

"You wound me. But of course Emma and I would like to keep _her_ friend company tonight. We'll be there, at the bar if you need us. Her. Emma. If you need Emma." He replied.

"Oh, get along or were not going." Emma felt like she was talking to a group of toddlers. "You've never had a problem with each other before."

Ruby regarded the pirate. "Sorry, I'm just anxious."

"No worries, lass." he grinned at her.

_...later that evening..._

Emma cringed as she read the poster attached to the door. It was karaoke night. Now she knew there was an ulterior motive for Ruby wanting them to come along tonight.. For months Ruby had asked Emma to join her on karaoke night and each time Emma refused. It wasn't that she _couldn't_ sing or that she had a terrible voice, it was just that one of the 'events', if you could be bothered to call it that, that the prison held was karaoke nights. The screechy voices echoed off the empty walls, reverberating against the bars of the cells. Emma hated terrible singers so not only was it a breeding ground for them, it also reminded her of one of the least pleasant experiences in her life.

Killian's hand was on the small of Emma's back as they approached The Rabbit Hole. He felt her stiffen they reached the door. Pulling her gently away from the door to allow another couple to enter, he asked if she was okay.

Emma nodded. She'd tell him the story later but it wasn't the time or the place. She was her for Ruby tonight and would manage to put her hatred of karaoke behind her for an evening. "Not really a big fan of karaoke, that's all."

He nodded and held open the door for her to enter. He immediately spotted the wolf and the doctor. They were sitting at a booth across from the bar, near the karaoke stage. They appeared to be having a pleasant enough time. He nudged Emma toward two empty seats at the corner of the bar, not far from where her friend sat.

An hour later, Emma was on her second drink and quite pleased there hadn't been anyone with too terrible of a voice.

"Emma! Killian!" Ruby shouted from her table. Emma turned to see Ruby waving them over. She glanced at Killian who nodded and shrugged before getting up.

"Come sit with us. I'm trying to pick a song to sing and Victor isn't helping me to choose." She said, grinning at the man across from her, once they had approached the table.

Victor promptly got up, switching to sit next to Ruby, allowing Killian and Emma to share one side of the booth. Another hour or so later, they all had another drink or two and a round of shots Ruby had talked them into. Victor groaned loudly, pulling the pager attached to his belt loop up so he could read the number.

"Ruby, I'm really sorry, I'm needed at the hospital." He sounded so apologetic Emma even felt bad for him. While a bit shy around Ruby, she could tell he really liked her. "Can I take you drop you off at home first or do...do you want to stay?"

"I'll stay a little bit longer, I'll hang out with Emma and Killian a bit. But I'll walk out with you. I could use some fresh air." Ruby replied, looking slightly disappointed. She knew it wasn't his fault, but she was still unhappy they had to end their date so soon. Emma took that as a good time to quickly run to the bathroom.

Emma and Ruby met at the table at the same time, only to find Killian was no longer there. "Where did he go?" Emma asked. Ruby shrugged and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the DJ.

"Next singer tonight is Killian Jones, let's give him a round of applause."

The crowded bar began clapping and Emma heard more than a few whistles and cat calls being directed at him, but all she could focus on was that he was standing on the small stage, microphone in hand. He winked at her. She knew her mouth was hanging open but she couldn't close it.

"He sings?" Ruby asked, breaking Emma from her trance.

"I have no idea what he is doing up there." Emma replied truthfully.

The music started and Killian began to sing.

_I know how to hold a grudge_

_I can send a bridge up in smoke_

_And I can't count the people I've let down, the hearts I've broke_

_You ain't gotta dig too deep_

_If you wanna find some dirt on me_

_I'm learning who you've been_

_Ain't who you've got to be_

_It's gonna be an uphill climb_

_Aww honey I won't lie_

Killian had kept his eyes closed for the first part of the song, but opened them, locking them on Emma as he sang the chorus. She stared back at him, unblinking.

_I ain't no angel_

_I still got a few more dances with the devil_

_I'm cleanin up my act, little by little_

_I'm getting there_

_I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see_

_I ain't as good as I'm gonna get_

_But I'm better than I used to be_

Emma let the words of the chorus combined with his voice and his eyes on her sink it. She obviously had too many drinks because this was making her feel more emotional than she should ever be in public. Almost as if she sensed it, Ruby reached across the booth and patted Emma's hand. "Quite the singer you've got yourself there." Emma only nodded.

_I've pinned a lot of demons to the ground_

_I've got a few old habits left_

_There's one or two I might need you to help me get_

_Standin in the rain so long has left me with a little rust_

_But put some faith in me_

_And someday you'll see_

_There's a diamond under all this dust_

_I ain't no angel_

_I still got a few more dances with the devil_

_I'm cleanin up my act, little by little_

_I'm getting there_

_I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see_

_I ain't as good as I'm gonna get_

_But I'm better than I used to be_

_I ain't no angel_

_I still got a few more dances with the devil_

_But I'm cleanin up my act, little by little_

_I'm getting there_

_I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see_

_I ain't as good as I'm gonna get_

_But I'm better than I used to be_

The crowded bar went wild when he finished, standing up, cheering and clapping him on the back as he made his way back over to the booth. Emma still wore the same shocked expression as when she found him standing on the stage. Ruby was grinning from ear to ear at him. "I'll be...outside. Or in the bathroom. Somewhere." She quickly walked away from the table.

"You...you can sing _LIKE THAT?" _Emma finally managed to get out. After her brain processed the shock of it, she couldn't stop thinking about how deliciously attractive he looked up there singing. Judging by the cat calls at the beginning, she wasn't the only one to think so.

"Like what?" Killian asked genuinely confused.

"I just never expected a pirate to be such a good singer. Your voice...you're just really good." Emma said still staring at him like he had performed a miracle or something.

He grinned, "why thank you, love but that's singing isn't the only thing I'm good at." He winked at her.

Emma felt herself flush but return to a more even playing ground."What else are you keeping from me, pirate?" She teased.

"Why don't you take me home and find out, princess?" He returned her teasing manner.

Emma glanced at her phone. It was half after midnight, more than a reasonable time to go home. Ruby would understand. "Let's go." She said, standing and feeling unusually possessive of him.

...

Killian rubbed at his neck. "I'm pretty sure you've marked me for all eternity. Did you really have to bite so hard? For a second I thought you may have become one of those vampire people like on the television."

Emma blushed, "I'm sorry. I'll stop on the way home tomorrow and find you some shirts that cover it up."

"Not at all! I have no qualms about the love bite, _love, _I was just teasing you. I quite like you marking me as yours, although I'm sure we can look into ways not involving teeth in the future."

They laid in silence for some time. Finally Emma spoke again. "How did you even know that song?"

"Your television has music channels. I've listed to a different one almost every day. I heard that song it resonated with me so I wrote down what the television said. Then Henry showed me how to put it on my phone. The technology you have us really quite fascinating." He replied.

"You know I love you for who you are, right? I don't need you to change or be any...better than you are." Emma whispered against his chest.

His fingers tangled in her hair. "Aye, love. But I have come a long way from the man I was and it's because of you."

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**The song is Better Than I Used To Be by Tim McGraw in case you were wondering. I initially had no idea what to have Killian sing but I was looking around at lyrics, saw this and knew it was perfect. **

**Thanks again for the reviews and follows! I know I haven't responded lately, but I do read them and they totally make me all warm and fuzzy inside. **


	19. Chapter 19

**This fits in better after 'At Home', their first night together, but I didn't have it finished before adding the other two chapters. I'm too lazy to rearrange them, so I figured I'd just let you know that instead. :)**

**Some more PG-13 rated smut but lots of fluff. **

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"I need to take your blood pressure, then we'll do the bloodwork. Just remove your jacket and push up your sleeve. The cuff goes around your upper arm." The nurse instructed him.

Emma had called Dr. Whale first thing in the morning and found out that he was free for the next hour so they hurried over to his office.

He stared at the nurse in shock as she placed the cuff around his arm and began to squeeze the attachment she held in her hand, causing the cuff to expand and put pressure on his arm. Emma had warned him to be good and just do as the doctor and nurse said but he already wasn't pleased with this experience.

What was with the patient coming to the doctor? If one were actually ill, wouldn't it be much less of a hassle for the doctor to visit the patient as they did in his time? Emma explained that it just eventually became easier to schedule time to see a doctor or doctors and have them in one central location. He could understand the logic, a bit, but it didn't mean he agreed with it.

"All done. 120/80, which is perfectly normal. Now make a fist with that hand." The nurse said. He obliged and she cleaned the area with a bit of wet gauze before sticking a needle right into his arm.

He gasped, right as Emma walked into the room. He looked between her and the needle incredulously. This was absolutely preposterous. Emma walked over to him. "Sorry, had to take that call. You doing okay? I hate having my blood taken."

He couldn't help the frown that appeared on his face. "I don't like this." He muttered pitifully.

She smiled softly at him. "You'll be okay. Almost done."

Dr. Whale came in and began talking to Killian about his medical history, not that there was much he could provide. The doctor opted to run additional tests for cholesterol since he'd never had it done before. Testing his reflexes and lung function were next, which was probably the only pleasant part of this exam, save for the taking his weight and height.

"I'll need you to undress completely for the rest of the exam. There is a paper gown on the chair, put that on with the opening in the front and I'll be back in a few minutes." Whale left the room.

Emma asked him if he had any questions and when he said no, she left the room as well. He wasn't sure why she felt it necessary to leave, seeing as she had already seen him naked.

...a few minutes later…

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT!?" She heard him screech. Oops. Maybe she should have went over that part of the physical in a bit more detail.

Ten minutes later a very grumpy Killian returned to the waiting room. He glared at her while they checked him out of his appointment. The receptionist said they would have the blood work back the next day and they would call him with the results.

"I can't believe you bloody well didn't tell me about _that _part!" he hissed as they walked to the car.

Emma had to stifle a laugh. "I did tell you! You must not have been listening."

"Violated. Bloody violated. There is something wrong with the medical procedures and personnel in your realm, Swan. It's nearly as bad as that terrible brig that force-fed me that vile creation they called bologna." His arms were crossed over his chest and he was stomping to the car.

Emma couldn't help but think that he looked like a child having a temper tantrum. "Well, if you're healthy than at least you don't need to go back for another year."

"THEY DO IT MORE THAN ONCE!? That was terrible enough for one lifetime and you're telling me that this is an annual tradition?!"

"...It _is_ called an annual exam. But hey, it's over with. How about we go to Granny's and get some breakfast." Emma felt as though she was dealing with Henry. They had a tradition, after he got a shot or had an otherwise unpleasant experience at the doctor, she followed it up with a treat of some sort. Usually Henry chose ice cream or candy. Emma had no desire to return to the ice cream shop any time soon and she had yet to introduce Killian to candy, so Granny's it was.

...the next morning…

"Love?" he called walking down the steps to see where she had gotten to this morning.

"In the kitchen." she responded.

He found her pouring milk on top of her cereal. "I am quite healthy!" he boasted. "Apparently these medical professionals in your realm do not believe a pirate could take care of himself on a ship!" He rolled his eyes.

"Good to know." She smiled at him. "So Leroy called me the other day. He said he needs a hand at the docks and was wondering if you'd be interested."

Killian's eyes immediately darted out the window to the ocean, a wistful expression coming over his face. "Yes, I believe I could volunteer my services to the dwarf."

"Oh, it's not volunteer. It'd be a job. I didn't ask him for the details, I figured I'd just ask you about it and see if you were interested. Then you could hash out the details with him if you were."

"Having me start a trade in your town? Why Swan, I do believe you might be interested in keeping me around!" He beamed at her.

Emma rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Yeah, yeah. What's next, you going to move your clothes into my closet and toothbrush into my bathroom?"

Raising an eyebrow at her, he took in her expression. While her tone was playful a serious note crossed her face. "I assume those are common rituals in relationships?"

She blushed. "Kind of. It's a long-standing joke between guys that the woman has decided the relationship is serious when you find her toothbrush next to yours and you have to clean out a drawer of clothing to make room for hers."

He closed the space between them before she had a second to blink. "I'm definitely not the woman in this relationship, but I believe my toothbrush would look quite nice next to yours. Plus you have the better shower." He said before kissing her.

"Guess I'd have to share that with you too." She smirked wondering if he'd catch her meaning.

"Yes, you will." His lips moved to her neck. "Fancy sharing it with me now?"

"Mmmm maybe." Emma whispered.

"Maybe?" he scoffed. "I'll just have to remind you how irresistible I am." He nibbled at her neck before throwing her over his shoulder and heading for the stairs.

"Put me down!" Emma thumped on his back.

He ignored her until they reached her bathroom where he sat her down on the counter. Pulling her shirt over her head, he leaned in to kiss her again, sucking on her bottom lip before moving to her earlobe and down her neck.

Emma equally appreciated and hated how quickly he could turn her on. He really was dangerously attractive. He didn't even need to kiss her or touch her to leave her wanting him. Sometimes it was as simple as a smile, a look of understanding or compassion.

"Okay, I'll share it with you." Emma gave in smiling at him.

"I thought so." He growled and quickly removed her clothing before starting the shower. Emma found out the seat she enjoyed sitting on to shave her legs was perfect for other activities as well.

With legs still wobbly from their events, Emma allowed him to pull her into an embrace. Her face rested in the crook of his neck and she inhaled deeply. He still smelled faintly of the sea and leather.

"How is it possible?" Emma mumbled.

"What love?" He began to dry her off.

"You still smell like leather and salt water." She answered him.

He cringed. "My apologies."

Emma shook her head from her spot nuzzled against his neck and squeezed him. "It's not a bad thing at all. I like it. It doesn't make sense, but I like it."

"As you wish." He chuckled softly.

She pulled away and met his eyes. "I love you too."

* * *

**I have a lot of half written chapters that I really need to finish if I'm going to keep the story line at least making some sense. Hope you liked this one! And again, I love, love, love all the reviews, follows and favorites. You're all really the best! **

**(And to my American readers, I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!)**


	20. Chapter 20: The Emma

**I think reviews inspire me. I've felt some writers block lately but with all these reviews, ideas are just pouring out of my fingertips. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my new followers and those who have reviewed! **

**I've had quite a few prompts asking for Emma to do something nice for Killian, after he planned the dinner on the boat for her. This has been an idea of mine all along and it finally came onto paper (computer?) today. I hope you like it! **

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Emma came back from lunch twisting her hands together. She flopped down at her desk at the sheriff's station, eyes darting back and forth between her computer and the clock on the wall. The picture frame, with a picture of her and Henry, was picked up and moved to the other side of the desk. And straightened. Three times. Her foot tapped incessantly on the floor until she tucked her leg under her. The stacks of papers on her desk were shuffled no less than five times. She took the pens out of her pen cup and sorted them between black and blue ink before returning then to the cup, ink colors segregated.

David had watched her with amused interest during all of this. It wasn't until Emma dumped a pile of paper clips onto her desk and began to place them in color coded piles that he spoke.

"Everything okay Emma?"

"Yeah, sure." she said distractedly. "Damn it why are there more red paper clips than blue?"

David muffled a snort. "Emma? You want to try answering that question again?" His voice was compassionate.

She dropped the paper clips and met her fathers eyes, guiltily. "I maybe kinda did something impulsive."

_Impulsive? _The only thing David knew Emma to be impulsive about was running away from a situation she was uncomfortable with and seeing that she was clearly in front of him, that was not the case. "What did you do?"

"Remember when Killian planned that dinner for me on the boat?" Emma asked.

David nodded. "Yeah the boat Leroy's been looking after."

"Yeah that one. Well, he won't be anymore." she said slowly.

"Why?" David needed her to be explicit.

"I...I may have bought it from him at lunch." Emma ducked her head.

"You did what?!" David exclaimed.

"I know! I said it was impulsive! I heard Leroy talking about selling it and I just bought it. I see the way that Killian looks at the docks every day. The wistful expression on his face. He says he doesn't really miss The Jolly Roger but I know he does. I mean, Killian gave up his ship for me. Me! And you've heard him talk about that ship right? How she wasn't just a ship, there was so much more to her. He gave that up for _ME! _His home, the only life that he knew, his job! I couldn't stop thinking about that and I just bought it." Emma finished in a rush.

David was smiling. Emma was never big on grand gestures or large expressions of emotion and this definitely qualified as both. While it was more impulsive than he ever expected from her, it was something her mother would do and he couldn't help but be excited.

"So how are you going to tell Killian? Just take him to the docks? Or what?" David asked.

Fear crossed over Emma's face. "Oh God. I hadn't even thought of that."

David leaned back in his chair, laughing. "So you bought a boat with no idea of how to give it to him?"

Emma cringed.

'I'm sorry. It's just kind of funny. You were able to buy a boat, full well knowing it was for Killian, yet you seem more nervous to actually give it to him." David said slowly carefully.

"Not it's not. It was a crazy impulsive purchase! What did I do? What if he hates it?" Emma exclaimed.

"Emma. Killian is not going to hate it. I can promise you that." David said seriously.

"But what if it is like a car? You know, something you need to test drive to make sure that it's the right fit?" Emma asked worriedly.

David tilted his head. That could be true, but he really doubted that Killian was going to care whether or not he had test drove the boat before Emma purchased it. He would more than likely be embarrassed at her spending money on him, incredulous that she would actually purchase it and simply downright thrilled that Emma cared enough to even think of purchasing a boat for him.

"Emma, as much as I hate to admit it, the man is head over heels in love with you. You can do no wrong in his eyes. He's going to love it, I'm sure." David said confidently.

Emma nodded slowly as if absorbing his words. "So how do I give it to him? It's not exactly something you can wrap up and put a bow on."

"I don't know. I'm sure you'll come up with something." David said.

Emma continued to fidget and pace around the station until David finally told her to go home. She wasn't getting any work done anyway, so she might as well be jittery at home.

Knowing there wasn't any food in the house, Emma stopped by Granny's and picked up some food to take home. Henry was sitting in a booth with Regina. She was supposed to drop him off later that night. Emma felt awkward. Things still hadn't been resolved between Regina and Robin, at least that she knew of, and the former evil queen was doing little to hide the daggers her eyes were aiming at Emma. Emma looked away.

She sensed someone at her side. "Hey mom," Henry said. 'I have my stuff with me. Is it okay if I just come home with you now instead of Regina dropping me off later?"

"Of course." Emma lifted her head in the direction of Regina to see if she was okay with the idea. The former queen just nodded curtly before getting up and walking out of the diner. Emma knew she really needed to do something about bringing Marian back, but with everything going on lately, she had no idea where to begin.

Emma turned to Henry. "Hey kid, I need your help."

Henry's eyes lit up as he took a seat next to her at the counter. "With what?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, it's kind of a big deal. And a secret, so don't yell or anything." Emma started.

"Did Killian ask you to marry him? Wait, are you going to ask him?" Henry mocked whispered, his whole face breaking out into a smile.

"What? No! Nothing like that!" Emma spluttered.

Henry's face fell. "Sorry I just thought maybe that was it."

Emma shook her head, trying to erase the mental image of Killian proposing to her, or her proposing to him. _Take it easy, kid! _ "You know the boat that Killian and I were on for that dinner he planned? Well Leroy was looking to sell it and I bought it from him today for Killian. I don't know how to give it to him so I was hoping you could help there."

"Oh mom that is awesome! He's absolutely going to love it! That was such a great idea." Henry gushed at her. "I think you should just keep it simple. Go take a walk along the docks and stop in front of the boat and then just tell him that it belongs to him now. I don't think you need to make any big gestures or anything, you're not like that and Killian knows it."

Emma furrowed her forehead. Was it a bad thing she wasn't like that? And how obvious was it if even her teenage son was able to point it out? "Simple. I can do that. I think."

"This is SO cool! So you think Killian will take me out sailing now? And you? Don't you want to learn how to sail?" Henry could barely contain his excitement.

"I'm sure he will, kid. Alright, let's get home." She grabbed the bag that Granny had placed in front of her right before she asked Henry for his help.

Emma walked in the door to find Killian on the couch watching tv. She almost immediately blurted out what she had done. Henry must have sensed it because he kicked gently in the shin, taking the food bag from her hand and placing it on the table and taking out the packages.

Killian said hello to Henry and crossed the room to give Emma a kiss. The second his lips left hers she blurted, "I bought you a boat."

Henry, who had moved to the other side of the counter to get plates, shook his head. "Smooth, mom. Real smooth."

Emma blushed and looked up at Killian terrified.

"I'm sorry love, what did you say?" Killian stuck his finger in his ear as though to clear out water. He surely hadn't heard her correctly. She didn't actually say she bought him a boat did she?

"The boat. The one we had dinner on. Leroy was going to sell it and I bought it from him today. For you. It's yours." The words tumbled out of Emma's mouth in a rush.

Killian couldn't hear anything but the blood pounding in his ears. He stared back at Emma, mouth agape. Emma, the woman of few words and guarded emotions had bought him the one thing he desired nearly as much as her.

Killian watched the fear creep up on Emma's face. "I thought...I know you miss her...I just...It was a terrible idea. I'm sorry."

Emma saw something she never imagined to see. Killian blinked quickly, the moisture in his eyes apparent. Before she could say any more, his hand came up to cup her face, his hook resting against her side. He stared into her eyes for a moment; expressing all of the emotions he couldn't yet form into words; gratitude, love, desire and shock before his lips captured hers in one of the sweetest, most tender kisses they had ever shared.

A few moments later, Henry cleared his throat loudly. "I'm uh, still here." He said.

Emma looked sheepish as she broke the kiss with Killian, who allowed her to disentangle her lips from his, but still held her close, staring at her in awe. "Emma, love, you continue to amaze me every day that I am with you. I don't believe I will ever be able to fully express my gratitude. I do not want you to feel as though you needed to do this, love. I _willingly_ trade my ship for that bean that brought me back to you. Please do not feel as though you need to repay me in any way. I will never regret what I did, and given the chance again I would make no changes. My home is wherever you are. I know you have watched me looking out at the sea but I need you to know that I am not looking with regret, I am merely remembering fond memories. The sea, my ship, was all I had for many years but now I have you. I love you, Emma. You are all I need." Killian had so much more he could say, but for the first time, his words failed him.

She couldn't help the tears that spilled over her eyes. "I know I didn't need to, I just wanted to. I knew it would make you happy and I wanted to do it for you."

He kissed her again until Henry coughed loudly and said "So Killian, what are you naming your new ship?"

"Why _The Emma_ of course." Kilian smiled down at her.

"Oh no! I am not having a boat or ship or anything else named after me. That's just creepy. Think of something else." Emma said.

"True Love?" Henry offered. They both turned to look at him and he grinned. "Princess Leia?"

* * *

**Should Killian name the boat True Love or Princess Leia? Or something else? I honestly can't decide so I'm going to leave it all up to you to decide. Leave me a comment with your boat name preference! Or just what you thought. I'm not picky. :)**


	21. Chapter 21:What's In a Name?

**Ugh! I had no intentions of making you wait over a week for the naming of the boat! It was a crazy week, but I've finally gotten this updated. **

**Thank you to everyone who commented and chimed in on what you thought Killian should name his new boat. **

**Oh, and warning: domestic Killian ahead. :) **

_A few minutes later…_

"You're going down to the dock to see it, right?" Henry asked. Both Emma and Killian were just staring at him after his name suggestions for the boat. He didn't think they were that bad!

Killian broke out of the stupor first. "Her. And yes, of course."

"For now I'm going to call her The Boat Who Must Be Named" Henry joked. Killian didn't catch the reference, they hadn't made it as far as the Harry Potter movies in Henry's collection yet, but Emma snorted.

"Good one kid. Are you coming with us?" She asked.

"Nah, you two go." Henry waved them out the door.

They opted to walk across the beach and take the small trail that lead to the docks instead of driving over. The weather was finally cooperating today and it seemed like warmer temperatures could really be on the way. Neither spoke during the walk, both reveling in their own thoughts. Emma was still worried that she had done too much too soon and that Killian would always think she felt the need to replace The Jolly Roger. Killian was still in shock, still trying to process that Emma had really done this for him. He never expected anything like this from her. She was all that he needed. Of course, he loved the idea of having a ship again, he was a captain after all, but he never expected Emma to _buy_ one for him. He figured he would either purchase one himself or eventually try to find the Jolly Roger again once they had found a way to return to other realms.

He stopped in front of the boat, dropping Emma's hand. It was too small to call a ship, really, but he would have a hard time referring to it as a boat. Ship, boat, floating water vessel, it didn't really matter what he called it. Climbing aboard, he held out his hand to Emma.

"Care to come aboard this pirates new vessel, my beautiful princess?" He grinned at her.

"Psst. It's not a pirate ship." Emma teased, but accepted his hand and stepped onto the boat.

"Of course not, love. However, its fitting enough I could wear my leathers on here if a certain princess so desired." He smirked at her and rubbed the wooden rail suggestively.

Emma laughed. "You're too much. But yes, you could wear them if you found a princess that found you attractive in leather rather than modern clothing."

"Have I?" He leaned into her ear. "Do you prefer the leathers or jeans? Or neither?"

Emma shook her head at him. Buy the man a ship and the pirate's sultry lines came out in full force. She had a sneaking feeling if she gave in to his lines, they'd spend the evening christening the ship, and while that wouldn't be the worst idea in the world, she knew Henry was at home waiting for them. "Any of the above, pirate." She took a step back from him. "Go look around."

He headed into the cabin and she heard his deep laugh. Curious, Emma headed below deck as well to find a few bottles of rum in a gift basket. There was no card, but she assumed it was from Leroy.

"You won't name it...her after me at all right?" Emma asked.

"No lass, I was just teasing you. There are varying superstitions about naming a vessel after a woman the captain personally knows and to be on the safe side, since we _are_ in Storybrooke, I would prefer not to chance that fate." He replied.

"What fate?" Emma asked. She didn't want the boat named after her, but found any superstitions about it intriguing.

"Well love, many vessels are named after women, goddesses mostly, even though having a woman on your ship is considered to be bad luck by many sailors. There are some captains who choose to name their vessel after their wife or a woman in their life, however should the relationship not work out, there is a very strict ceremony that must be followed in order to rename the boat. This vessel already has a name and I while I do not ever wish ill of my future with you, it is not a chance I am willing to take. There is also a superstition that one must not name their ship after a betrothed woman. I know that is not the case now, however should that change in the future it could be dangerous to be on the vessel until marriage." Killian explained.

_Wait a minute. Did he just tell me that he can't name a ship after me because we might get engaged? ENGAGED? Married?! _Emma's brain was going a mile a minute.

"Calm down, love. I haven't asked for your hand in marriage... yet." Killian reached out to pull her into his arms.

"Yet?" Emma croaked.

Killian sighed. "It is quite common in this realm as well that when two people love each other they get married, yes? I know that is more commitment than you are okay with right now, however I believe my intentions have been made clear for quite some time now. I'm not rushing you Emma. I never will. Just please do not act so shocked at the possibility of it. It's not a conversation we need to have at present. Besides, I believe we were discussing the naming of this vessel." He grinned at her.

Emma managed to slow down her speeding brain. In reality, Killian was correct. Emma knew he wanted to spent the rest of his life with her and he had done nothing to dissuade her from thinking marriage would be the next logical step, but she was no where near ready to even think about getting married. She didn't know if she could ever fully express how much she appreciated how patient he was with her.

"As I was saying, once a name is chosen for the ship, there is a ceremony we must perform in order to properly change her name, otherwise she will be very bad luck." Killian continued.

"So you won't call her Emma or Swan or any variation of that, then right?" Emma confirmed.

"No, although 'Swan' does have a nice ring to it, don't you think? Perhaps we shall get a puppy or kitten and name it Swan. I do believe your boy was onto something with his suggestions. I believe I would like to have her renamed Leia."

_Did he just tell me we're getting a pet too? When did Captain Hook become so domestic?! _"And Leia is okay because it's fake name I used?" Emma asked.

"Tis more than a fake name, love. It's a woman getting a glimpse of a life she might have had with a pirate her parents never would have approved of. It's a stepping stone in our relationship. It's a sign of growth. Of trust. It is just one word that can simply sum up our entire adventure to the past together while still holding so many references only known to you and I." Killian explained.

Emma nodded. He had summed up so perfectly why there should be no other name for his boat. She could never be named anything but Leia after that explanation. "Leia." She whispered. "I like it."

* * *

**Many of you wanted me to name her Swan and while I did think I was going to go that route at first, I did some research on boat naming and came across the tidbit Killian explains above about naming after a woman the captain knows. **

**Also, special thanks to Erin who left a beautifully written review as to why Killian should name the boat Leia. I used that as my inspiration for Killian's explanation of why Leia was the perfect choice. **


	22. Chapter 22: The Naming Ceremony

**I meant to have this finished and shared with you on Friday, but then I noticed that tumblr had exploded with pictures from the cast filming season 4 and then I may have spent the next few hours staring at all the pictures. **

**I know its hot there and all, but did Colin really need to be standing around sans vest and jacket with half his chest hanging out of that shirt? That man really should be illegal. My inner fangirl was practically drooling. Then I had to read that he was making the fans do the wave and yelled "arrgh" at them. I wonder though, if there is anything he can do that wouldn't be adorable? I feel like his wife could say "yeah he snores, really loudly and leaves his dirty socks all over the place" and the internet would just tilt their heads and sigh. **

**Anyway, this is a long chapter, naming a boat is a LOT of words! And the first chapter where I had to do some research before posting it, which was pretty cool. Well, you're not here to read me ramble. **

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It had become a weekly ritual for Emma, Killian and Henry to join David, Mary-Margaret and Neal on Sunday evening for a family dinner. Mary-Margaret had immediately inquired as to how one would go about renaming a boat and once she learned a ceremony would take place, she quickly asked Killian if he would mind if she invited some townspeople and made food for the event.

Not one to deny whom he hoped to be his future mother in law, he immediately agreed, telling her wished to hold the ceremony on Saturday.

….Saturday….

After choosing the name for the vessel, Killian made Emma promise to keep it a secret until the ceremony. For someone who had a superpower of being able to spot out liars, she was terrible at lying herself. There were many times in the past few days Killian had to jump into a conversation and steer her away from revealing the name. Henry, Snow and David were content enough to learn the name at the ceremony, yet everyone else in town was constantly asking about it.

Leroy was the only other person to know the boats new name. He had sanded down the area with the old name, painted the new one and added a glossy coat to match to the rest of the boat. The name was covered securely with a drop cloth.

Picnic tables had been brought down to the beach area, now covered with red and white checkered tablecloths and practically groaning under the weight of all of the food. Granny hadn't let Snow prepare all the food alone, the two of them had whipped up enough food to feed an entire army, possibly even an entire country. Two picnic tables alone had been pushed together to hold all of the drinks, ranging from iced tea to lemonade to water and sodas. Two coolers, the size of bathtubs, held ice. Another two tables held four different types of pies, at least two sheet pans of brownies and the largest mountain of chocolate chip cookies Killian had ever encountered. Bowls of green salad, potato and pasta salads, macaroni and cheese, even lasagna took up another three tables. David, Dr. Whale and some of the dwarves were manning the grills, which were overflowing with burgers, hot dogs and chicken pieces.

Emma had explained that the food was typical of a cookout or barbecue which were common weekend events, especially in the summer, when the weather was most favorable. The weather had warmed significantly, many of the townspeople had arrived not even wearing coats. Killian just gawked at her and the food, eyes darting between the two before he finally managed to ask "has your mother amassed an army she's hiding somewhere? This enough food to sustain this town for weeks!"

Emma only laughed and patted his arm. "Come on Captain, it appears everyone is here and Ruby has started to pass out the champagne. Time to give your new boat a proper ceremony."

Kilian nodded and stepped aboard. Emma followed him but did not step aboard, instead choosing to remain on the dock. Killian rang the boat's bell, causing silence to fall among the group that had gathered with them. His eyes found Henry's and beckoned him to come onto the dock as well.

"Thank you all for coming. I must first remove the vessel of her previous name and then we will have a ceremony for the new name." He walked down the bow and held up a small metal tag. "This tag contains the previous name of the vessel. Let's begin the ceremony, shall we?"

A roar went up from the crowd and Killian flushed, immediately bringing his good hand to scratch behind his ear.

"Err, umm." Emma watched him take a deep breath and look out over the ocean. His shoulders squared back and a determined glint sparked in his eyes. His voice was much more confident when he spoke again. "In the name of all who have sailed aboard this vessel in the past and in the name of all who may sail aboard her in the future. We invoke the ancient Gods of wind, Aeolus, and the sea, Neptune, also hailed as Poseidon, to favor us with their blessing today. Mighty Neptune, King of all that moves in or on the waves, and mighty Aeolus, guardian of the winds and all that blows before them! We offer thanks for the protection that you have afforded this vessel in the past. We voice our gratitude that she has always found shelter from tempest and storm and enjoyed safe passage to port."

Killian rang the bell again. "A toast to Sea Dream", he gestured to the boat "and to her previous owners, whomever they may be." He held up the bottle of champagne and indicated the guests should take a drink.

"To Sea Dream and her previous owners!" the crowd chorused.

"Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, implore you in your graciousness to expunge for all time from your records and recollection the name Sea Dream which has ceased to be an entity in your kingdom. As proof thereof, we submit this ingot bearing her name to be corrupted through your powers and forever be purged from the sea." Killian dropped the metal tag into the water below.

"Now therefore, we submit this supplication, that the name of this vessel has hiterto been known as Sea Dream, be struck and removed from your records and archives. Further, we ask that when she is again presented for blessing with her new name, she shall be recognized and shall be accorded once again the self-same privileges she previously enjoyed. In grateful acknowledgement of your munificence and dispensation, we offer these libations to your majesty and your court." With that, Killian popped open the bottle of champagne and began walking around the boat, pouring the champagne overboard.

The crowded cheered and toasted again. Killian couldn't help but smile. He had no idea the townspeople would have any interest in such a ceremony but they appeared fully invested.

"Her name has been removed. We may now begin the re-naming ceremony." He wasn't used to being on display to this many people. When he named the Jolly Roger, only Smee had been present and they celebrated by finding the nearest tavern and getting completely knackered, to the point where Killian had to drag Smee back to her and toss him aboard as the man couldn't stand on his own two feet.

"In return for this, we rededicate this vessel thy domain in full knowledge that she shall be subject as always to the immutable laws of the Gods of wind and sea. Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, implore you in your graciousness to take unto your records and recollection this worthy vessel hereafter and for all time known as..._Leia_, guarding her with your mighty arm and trident and ensuring her safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within your realm."

Killian paused to look out at the crowd. Henry was grinned from ear to ear, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Killian and Emma. He shot Killian a thumb's up. David stood with his arm around Mary-Margaret who held Neal against her chest. Even from the distance, Killian could see the knowing smile on her face. David nodded his approval, grinning as well. Emma just stood there smiling at him. The rest of the town may not have known the story behind the name, but they all smiled at him in approval.

Clearing his throat, Killian continued. "In consequence whereof, and in good faith, we seal this pact with a libation offered in according to the hallowed ritual of sea. In appreciation of your munificence, dispensation and in honor of your greatness, we offer these libations to your majesty and your court."

Killian gestured for Emma and Henry to join him aboard the boat. Henry immediately went below deck and returned with six champagne flutes. Killian asked Emma to pour them and handed a bottle of red wine to Henry. "Pour this over the bow and offer some to the God Neptune" Killian instructed him.

Henry moved to the bow and said loudly, "God Neptune, we offer you this red wine" before pouring some over the bow. Henry immediately turned to look at Killian who nodded at him in approval.

"Oh mighty rulers of the winds, through whose power our frail vessels traverse the wild and faceless deep, we implore you to grant this worthy vessel, Leia, the benefits and pleasures of your bounty, ensuring us of your gentle ministration according to our needs. Emma, please fling the champagne to the north." He turned to face north and Emma held the champagne flute up high over the boat. "Great Boreas, exalted ruler of North Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your frigid breath." Emma flung the contents of the champagne flute.

Facing West, Killian said, "Great Zephyrus, exalted ruler of the West Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your wild breath." Emma caught on quickly and flute the champagne westward.

Turning to the East, Killian said "Great Eurus, exalted ruler of the East Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your mighty breath." This time Henry took a flute and flung the champagne to the east.

Facing South, Killian continued. "Great Notus, exalted ruler of the South Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your scalding breath." Henry flung the champagne again.

"Hail! Aeolus and Neptune! We seek your benevolence upon this vessel, now to be known as Leia. Aeolus, whose mighty hand doth charge the wind to this vessel gentle zephyrs send, and we who sail within will bend our heads in awe and tribute, without end. With breath from high that maketh heaven's breeze, to cause we sailors joy, or fear, upon the seas. We call upon you Aeolus, please - grant this ship and all its mortals, ease. To Aeolus!" Killian held his champagne flute high. Emma and the townspeople followed. Henry rang the ship's bell.

"O Neptune! You spirit God of waters great and small, on this vessel by your grace, allow these sons and daughters all, to pass from port of hailing to their port of call, and on these sailing subjects make your gentle blessings fall. You who cause these seas to rage or lie in sweet repose, please list'n to we mariners here, your servants of the flows. This ship, the captain, crew and all those who love the wind and seas - will follow where thee goes. To Neptune!" Killian held the flute high again. Henry rang the bell again.

He grinned out at the crowd of people. "Almost finished, I promise. David and Mary-Margaret, may you please come aboard?" Killian asked.

Emma's parents look surprised, but came aboard the Leia. Emma instantly reached out to take Neal from her mother's arms.

Killian handed David and Mary-Margaret another bottle of champagne and a small note. "This is best done by royalty…" He trailed off. David and Mary-Margaret moved to the hull of the boat and each held a hand around the champagne bottle.

With clear, loud voices, they recited together. "Let it be recorded, that on this day, the twentieth of July, two thousand fourteen, and forever more, this fine vessel is name Leia. We name this ship Leia! May god bless her and all who sail in her!" Their arms came down simultaneously, cracking the bottle of champagne over the hull. Cheers rose up from the crowd.

"This is a damn waste of good alcohol!" Leroy yelled from the crowd, causing laughter to break out.

"I promise we're almost done and there is more than enough alcohol aboard for everyone." Mary-Margaret called out.

Henry moved to take Neal from his mother, replacing her sibling with the champagne flute. Emma cleared her throat nervously, "Well, first, a toast to the Captain." She said smiling at Killian.

He grinned back at her. "Thank you, mi'lady."

"A silver dollar will be placed under the mast as a good luck charm and as a symbol of generosity to this vessel, to show her that we will care for her and attend to her every need and desire."

Killian turned to Henry and said "A toast to my handsome first mate." Henry blushed to the roots of his hair and stood, gaping at Killian. "What? Every Captain needs a first mate. We can't guarantee your mother will be any good at it lad." Henry beamed, unable to speak.

"And finally," Killian called. "A toast to all of you for enduring this long ceremony! Many thanks for coming today to help carry out this essential naming ceremony and to celebrate this festive occasion. Cheers! Now, go get some food before Mary-Margaret yells at me for starving you."

The townspeople immediately gravitated over toward the tables of food and began to heap piles of food onto their plates.

David and Mary-Margaret approached Killian first. David spoke, "Thank you Killian for making us a part of the ceremony. That was really unexpected." Before Killian could react, David had pulled him into a hug.

Mary-Margaret squeezed his hand and stood on tip-toe to kiss his cheek. "Thank you indeed." She beamed at him before taking Neal back from Henry and leaving the three on the boat.

Emma's arm came around his waist. "You didn't need to do that, you know? Include my parents or make Henry your first mate. Although I am kind of insulted…" Her face had lit up into that genuine smile he had come to love.

"Aye love, I know I didn't need to, but I wanted to. They're here because of you. I'm here because of you. It only seemed appropriate to include those you hold so dear into the naming ceremony of this vessel. And sorry, but I do think Henry would make a better first mate. You may be a bit of a pirate Swan, but a sailor, you are not." He leaned down to kiss her, not aware that the town had stopped to watch them.

She hadn't noticed either, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him toward her. It wasn't until the catcalls and cheers started that they both realized they were on display and pulled apart from each other.

Killian noticed, however, that while Emma's face may have flamed, she didn't put very much space between them and was holding his hand. It was that exact moment, looking out over the townspeople from his new vessel, with the woman he loved and her son he was growing increasingly fond of by his side, did he really feel accepted by the town and truly at home.

* * *

**I wasn't planning on this ending so fluffily (I like to make up words) but I had some extra feels and they just poured out. **

**I don't think I've said it in a while, but seriously, you all are freaking awesome for the reviews and follows! I never thought I'd have this many people reading along! I wanna hug you all and send you cupcakes or something. :) **


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